Side Effects
by REIDFANATIC
Summary: Spoilers for Amplification. Takes place after the events of Amplification. As Reid recovers from his anthrax infection, is there more than a doctor/patient relationship between him and Dr. Kimura
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. No copyright infringement is intended

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The tall woman dressed in blue scrubs, wisps of her dirty blond hair coming loose from its clip signed her name, S Darnell RN after her chart entry and replaced the chart in its place on the chart rack. She looked at the clock on the wall of the nurses' station, 2300 hours, one more hour until her shift was over and she could go home. She hated evening shifts but this week they had been unusually brutal. She barely got to see her kids before they were off to school and they were in bed by the time she got home. Nursing certainly wreaked havoc with your family life. "I'll be glad when this one's over," she told Shirley Payne who was tallying her in and out sheets. "I've got a couple of days off and I'll at least be able to see my kids."

"Tell me about it," Shirley replied. "I think Lyle's forgotten that I exist. He's gone when I get up in the morning and asleep when I get home. I think I've forgotten the last time we had sex. Tell me again why I chose this profession."

"Because you wanted to lovingly heal the sick," Beth Claridge, a tiny black woman, similarly dressed in blue scrubs, who'd just come from completing her last round, said, as she deposited her flashlight on the desk.

"Yeah," Sandy said with disdain, "and a lot of healing we did. We lost twenty-one out of twenty-six." A somber pall fell over the trio as they thought of the many victims they had lost in those two horrible days. "All those precious little children; when I got home that night, I woke mine up just to hold them. Rick and the kids thought I was nuts and I couldn't tell them why."

The door to one of the rooms down the hall opened and Dr. Linda Kimura emerged and headed down the hall towards the elevator. As she passed the nurses' station she said, "Good night ladies," and asked to be beeped immediately if there were any changes.

"Of course doctor," the trio replied in unison.

"She's been putting in a lot of extra hours this week," Shirley remarked.

"Yeah, well she is head of the team and it is anthrax after all," Beth replied.

"Oh come on Beth," Shirley countered. "When have you known her to be here almost twenty-four/seven when the danger has passed and the patients are on the mend? I'll tell you when…never. She's a dedicated doctor, don't get me wrong, there's none better, but once the cure took hold she could have left it in our more than capable hands to pull the patients through."

"She does seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time here," Sandy agreed, "and most of it seems to be with one particular patient."

"Can you blame her? That," Shirley pointed to the room down the hall, "has never been what I've thought of when I've thought FBI. I usually think of guys in black suits with sunglasses." The other two laughed at her description. "But he is a fine specimen and personally, I think he's got Dr. Kimura's hormones working overtime."

"Oh come on guys, they were assigned to work together," Beth reminded them.

"And it wouldn't be the first time two people 'assigned to work together' became attracted to one another," Sandy added making quotation marks with her fingers.

"Lena from day shift was telling me," Shirley whispered, "that she was sure she saw Dr. Kimura checking Dr. Reid out, if you know what I mean," she nodded her head and winked.

"I hear ya," Sandy said. "Kelly was telling me that he had a bunch of friends visiting him and they were giving Dr. Kimura the lowdown about Dr. Reid which she was apparently eating up with a spoon."

"You do have a point," Beth weighed in reluctantly. "I mentioned to her last night that Dr. Reid was refusing any morphine and sedatives and she snapped at me that he was perfectly within his rights to refuse if he so chose. Dr. Kimura never snaps."

"Well, ya gotta admit, if she's gonna fall for someone why not him, he's really sweet," Shirley said.

"Yeah, but he must be ten years younger than her. Dr. Kimura doesn't strike me as the type to be looking for a boy toy," Beth said.

"Boy toy," Sandy scoffed. "Kelly was telling me that he's some kind of genius and apparently he's got three doctorates and two Bas. You wouldn't think he'd even talk to us lower forms of life but he's very nice. And man, he's not hard on the eyes so it wouldn't be that Dr. Kimura would only want him for his looks. They could also connect very well on an intellectual level."

"Dr. Kimura's a great lady and she deserves someone special in her life and if she could snag a doll like Dr. Reid, I say more power to her," Shirley stated.

"Hey ya got no disagreement from me," Sandy said as she pulled another chart from the rack and started to make her nurse's note from her worksheet. "It sounds like he's being hailed as kind of the hero of this whole thing despite the fact that he got himself infected with anthrax. Dr. Kimura said he told her where to look for the cure and he was the one who helped figure out who was behind all this."

"Yeah, if I'd been in his shoes, I would have gotten out of there ASAP," Beth said. "I wouldn't have been that selfless. I guess I'm not the hero type."

"I suppose we should be glad that there are people out there like Dr. Reid who are braver than we are. Maybe that's part of what turns Dr. Kimura on about Mr. FBI, other than him being a total babe of course."

"Guys, we don't even know for sure if she is turned on by Dr. Reid," Beth reminded them.

"Nooo," Shirley said, "we don't really know for sure."

"Shirley," Sandy said suspiciously, "I know that look on your face girl. What are you thinking?"

"I was thinking," Shirley smirked, "we should put our money where our mouths are. Let's start a pool. This could prove veeery interesting."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: Thanks to all who took the time to read and review.

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"Code blue to room 411," could be heard over the intercom as Garcia and Emily sat in chairs in Reid's room. Morgan had left only a short time before the two women arrived. Reid was beginning to feel they were keeping vigil over him in assigned shifts.

"Guys, you don't have to spend all your time here. It's not the most exciting place on earth. Doesn't Hotch need you for something?" Reid asked from a recliner chair in his room. He no longer wore the nasal cannula but still had his IV for administration of the medication that had saved his life. As much as it annoyed him, he supposed he shouldn't complain considering the alternative. He wore a brown robe over his hospital gown and pajama pants.

"Reid, we came so close to losing you sweet cheeks; don't try and stop us from seeing you," Garcia replied. "Now, is there anything you need?"

Was there anything he needed? Reid looked around the room at all the decorations, the fruit basket and cookies, their abundance shrinking as he continued to devour them, to the discman that Hotch had brought him with the _The Lord of the Rings_ trilogy on CD, well thirteen CDs to be exact. He'd found Ian Holm's voice describing the exploits of Frodo Baggins and company lulled him to sleep at night. Morgan had brought him his laptop, so he could work on a paper for his philosophy course, and some magazines. He'd kept _Popular Science _and _Scientific American _on his bedside table top. The other one he kept in his drawer. He was terrified the nurses would see it and think he was a pervert though Morgan swore he only bought it for him because the articles were good. He would have thrown it out but he didn't want the housekeeper who emptied the trash to think he was a pervert either.

What he needed most was the one thing he couldn't ask for. His gun, his badge and anything else in his possession at the time of his infection had been taken for autoclaving and would be returned to him he'd been told. It wasn't that he had a strong desire for his gun or his badge at that moment but he badly wanted his one year medallion, especially here where the nurses were constantly asking him if he wanted Morphine. What was it with them. Did they have stock in some pharmaceutical company or something? "Uh…well there is one thing you could do for me."

"Name it Reid," Emily replied.

Reid opened the drawer of his nightstand and withdrew an envelope. "One of the nurses got me some paper and an envelope," he handed Emily the envelope that was addressed to Dianna Reid. "I missed a couple of days there and I'm sure she'll be wondering. I write to her every day. I don't want her to worry. With her paranoia she…she imagines the worst. I couldn't tell her what happened so I told her I got really busy with a case."

"Sure Reid, we'll mail it as soon as we leave," Emily said as Dr. Kimura walked into the room.

"Hello Agent Prentiss, Miss Garcia," the doctor said. She looked different from the last time Emily had seen her. Her hair was still styled back off her face but unlike before it was not rolled into a tight chignon at the back of her neck but fell down her back in a French braid. Today she was clad in a gold colored tank with a straight navy skirt that fell to her knee showing off a pair of shapely legs that ended in low navy pumps. Her stethoscope was once again wound around her neck.

"Oh, you probably need us to go so you can examine Reid," Emily said.

Garcia looked at Reid who was smiling at the doctor as she entered the room. Was it her imagination or did Reid seem to sit up a little straighter in his chair.

"No that's fine, you visit. Dr. Reid needs his visits from friends. I'll be here well into the night. I can come back later and check him over."

"Well if you're sure," Emily replied although from the way Dr. Kimura looked at Reid, like he was a chocolate sundae and she was on a strict diet, she thought the good doctor was already doing a pretty good job of checking Reid out.

"Yes, I'm sure, enjoy your visit," Linda Kimura said as she turned and left the room. Garcia thought Reid seemed to enjoy watching her walk away.

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When the women got into Emily's car a while later Garcia asked, "Did you see what I just saw?"

"That Dr. Kimura looked at Reid like he was a banquet lunch you mean?" Emily replied.

Garcia nodded, "And did you see the way Reid smiled when she came into the room. But more importantly, did you notice him when she left. He was checking out her legs and her booty!"

Emily giggled, "Reid's so intellectual. I don't think I've ever seen him check out a woman's butt before."

"Intellectual or not," Garcia added, "he's still a guy."

"So, do you think something's going on there?" Emily wondered with a smirk.

"I don't know, she's a little bit old for Reid isn't she?"

"You know, I could definitely see Reid with an older woman. He had to grow up so young. He's never been the mental age of his contemporaries. And Linda Kimura is right up his alley, clearly very intelligent, very pretty and I'd also say, obviously interested in him."

Garcia mulled over what Emily had said. "Okay, I'll grant you our sweet boy is an old soul compared to his piers but when it comes to romance, he's way behind."

"That's why I think someone like Linda Kimura would be good for him. She's not a young girl. She's looking for different things. She and Reid mesh on an intellectual level. And let's face it, it wouldn't be the first time an intense situation has brought two people together."

"If they mesh on such an intellectual level, why did they look like they wouldn't mind jumping each other?" Garcia laughed. "But yeah," she agreed, "it was the two of them working together that found out about the people in the bookstore. They were together in Nichols' house where Reid helped figure out who Brown was and led Dr. Kimura to find the cure. She was the one who took care of him when we couldn't be there for him so, yeah, I can see this bringing them together."

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JJ sat in the break room and listened to Emily and Garcia expound on their theory of Reid hooking up with Dr. Kimura. "Well, I guess the tenseness of a case could bring the two of them together," she said as she thought of the picture of Henry and herself that sat on her desk. Her son was living proof of that wasn't he? "I can't see Reid asking her out. He's just so shy with women, well, in social situations I mean."

"Maybe the lovely Dr. Kimura will take care of that. She let her hair down, so to speak, and showed a little leg. I don't know if she was actually dressed to flirt with him or just wanted to show him what was available," Emily replied.

"Or, it could be something as simple as she chose to wear a skirt today and have nothing to do with Reid." JJ played devil's advocate.

"You didn't see the way they looked at one another. So, how long do we give it?" Garcia got up and began pacing by the table. "If she doesn't call him in a week after he's out, maybe we should give him a little nudge."

"We're not actually the best ones to do that Garcia," JJ reasoned.

"You mean Morgan? Should we let Morgan in on this? He'll only tease Reid mercilessly," Emily remarked.

"Let Morgan in on what?" Morgan said from the doorway.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: I apologize to those who have been waiting for a new chapter. The site has not allowed me to upload a document since Friday. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

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Linda Kimura stood at the nurses' station writing her comments in the doctor's progress notes of one of the anthrax patients. Lena Stouffer leaned over and whispered to Kelly Heath, "Is it just me or does Dr. Kimura seem more dressed up than usual? I've never seen her in anything but pants and I've never seen her with her hair down."

"The French braid really suits her," Kelly whispered back, "but I don't think she did it to impress us."

"No, but I have the distinct feeling she's trying to impress someone. Wait until the evening girls get a load of this."

Dr. Kimura looked up from the chart she was writing in when a man came down the hall in army fatigues. He stopped at the nurses' desk and identified himself as Corporal McLean. "I have some things here belonging to," he read off his requisition form, "Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Spencer Reid. All the items have been completely sanitized and autoclaved." He held up the zip locked plastic bag. The three women could see it contained a gun and holster, a badge and ID, a wallet, keys and some coins. "It has to be signed for," he told them. Dr. Kimura took the requisition from the corporal and signed on the indicated space. "Thank you, ma'am," the corporal said before he turned smartly and walked down the hall once again.

"Do you want me to take those things to Dr. Reid, Dr. Kimura?" Kelly asked.

"No, that's fine, I'm going to check up on him anyway, I'll take them." She finished her note in the chart, grabbed the plastic bag and headed down the hallway, oblivious to the knowing looks of the nurses.

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"Let Morgan in on what?" Morgan asked from the doorway.

Garcia and Emily turned toward the door like they'd suddenly been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Oh nothing," Emily said nonchalantly.

"Come on, I heard you. This has something to do with Reid. What's the kid done now?"

"Nothing," Garcia replied. "He hasn't done anything."

Morgan nodded and smiled at the women as he reached for the coffee pot and filled his mug emblazoned with the FBI emblem with the steaming brew. "You might as well give it up now," he said as he stood with his back to the counter, the mug of coffee in one hand while he waved his index finger around the room taking in the three women, "Because I'm going to find out eventually. Baby girl," he looked directly at Garcia, "you know you can't hold out on your man."

"Oh my God," JJ jumped up. "Look at the time; I've got to get ready for the briefing. Garcia, I need you to look into that…that thing for me."

"Right, on it JJ," Garcia followed JJ from the room.

"I better go and…uh get ready for the briefing," Emily said as she followed the others out the door.

"You can run but you can't hide. What are you girls hiding and what does it have to do with my man?"

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Linda Kimura stood in the doorway of Reid's room. He was sitting on top of the bed, the bedside table wheeled in front of him. His long fingers moved quickly as he shuffled a deck of cards with all the dexterity of a Las Vegas dealer. She knocked lightly on the door before entering. "I come bearing gifts," she held up the bag.

Reid's eyes grew large and he smiled broadly, "My stuff, I thought I'd never get them back." He grabbed the bag from her hand like she was offering water to a man lost in the desert. He looked in the bag and could see all his things; there it was nestled with the coins he'd been carrying in his pocket, his medallion. He wanted to reach into the bag and grab it, to feel its familiar shape, its grooves and ridges, which had been memorized by his fingers over time. He wanted to feel the engraving but mostly to get the feeling of achievement he felt when he fingered it, a reminder of a struggle overcome. He couldn't do that though, not in front of Dr. Kimura.

"I'm glad I made your day," she smiled. "You know that gun is going to have to go to security and be locked up."

"Yeah, I understand, that's fine."

"So, how are you feeling?" she asked as she removed the stethoscope from around her neck and listened to his chest.

"I'm feeling good," he replied.

"Your chest sounds good," she said when she removed the ear pieces and replaced the stethoscope around her neck. "Your blood work is normal. I'm going to stop the IV fluids. We're going to leave the heplock in but just for medications. So, you can walk around without toting this pole."

"That would be great," Reid said as he shuffled the cards again and cut them expertly using only one of his long fingered hands.

"You're pretty good at that. Do you use cards to do your magic tricks?"

His eyes widened at her words, "How did you…?"

"Agent Morgan told me when you were still out of it that you did magic," she responded, smiling.

"What else did he say about me?" Reid asked suspiciously.

"Nothing bad if that's what you're thinking. Your friends love you and they wanted to share what they love about you." Reid's face turned what Linda thought was an adorable shade of pink at her words and quickly turned his attention to his cards. "Can you do a trick for me?" she asked as she sat down beside his bed.

Reid shuffled the cards again using various styles and fanned them out in front of Linda face up and then in one smooth move fanned them again face down. "Pick a card, any card." Linda withdrew a card and looked at it. Reid closed the deck. "Put it back anywhere in the deck." Linda did so while Reid looked away. He shuffled the deck a few times and began to leaf the cards out one at a time. After quite a few cards he said, "It must be near the bottom of the deck." He came to the last card of the deck and his eyes grew huge with surprise while Linda's face deflated when she didn't see her card. Reid gave a small embarrassed laugh. "Uh…maybe it stuck to another card," he said as he went through the deck again. "I don't get it, this always works. Maybe being sick has put me off my game."

"But where would it go? Maybe it fell on the floor," Linda said looking down, praying to see the card and take the sadness out of those beautiful brown eyes.

"It's okay," he yelled, "I found it."

Her head popped up, "Was it stuck to another card?"

"No, it was," he reached behind her left ear, "right here all the time." The hand that she was positive had been empty now held a playing card. Reid turned the card over with a grin. "Is the queen of hearts your card, Dr. Kimura?"


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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Linda Kimura left Abby's room making her last checks of the evening. All the anthrax infected patients were doing well. Their lungs had all improved; lesions were decreasing in size, some almost disappearing completely. She passed the nurses' station on her way to Dr. Reid's room, not seeing Shirley nudge Beth and wink. She entered Reid's room to find it empty. She knocked on the bathroom door but there was no response. She hadn't ordered any tests that he would have been taken for especially at this time of night. She turned back toward the nurses' station. "Do either of you know where Dr. Reid is?" she asked.

"He's likely in the day room," Beth offered. "He goes there when he can't sleep."

"We keep offering him a sedative," Shirley added, "but he refuses to take anything."

"Okay, thanks," Linda said as she headed for the day room, so named because during the day, the floor to ceiling windows that walled two sides of the room allowed sunlight to stream in. Now, of course, it was illuminated by fluorescent lighting, the darkness outside allowing a beautiful view of the city by night. She saw him sitting alone on one of the leather sofas that furnished the area along with some easy chairs, coffee and occasional tables. He looked to be turning a coin over and over in his hands. In front of him on the coffee table sat a large cup of Starbucks coffee. She pointed to the cup as she approached him, "No wonder you're not sleeping."

"Rossi," Reid said in response. "He paid one of the guys across the street to bring me a cup when his shift ends. I think my body's immune to the caffeine at this point anyway."

"Then why aren't you sleeping?" she inquired as she sat beside him on the sofa.

He reached for the coffee and took a sip, "Occupational hazard," he replied. "The things we see and do on the job don't always lend themselves to pleasant dreams and a good night's sleep. My team is in Wyoming. Three little boys have been abducted, molested and murdered. I should be there with them helping find this bastard and instead I'm stuck here."

"If this job takes such a toll, why do you do it? With your credentials you could do almost anything you wanted."

"When I was at Harvard, Jason Gideon, a former member of the team, came to recruit for the FBI. The way he spoke about the BAU and what they did appealed to me. That sounds kind of funny I suppose. You know how people say, 'I love my job'. This isn't a job you ever enjoy but it's one that has to be done and the aspect of solving the puzzle, I guess, is what appealed to me. I had a lot of education and I wanted to use it to make a difference. I approached him after the lecture and we struck up a friendship. He helped me get into the BAU. He got them to bend the rules for me actually and was my mentor until he left about a year ago. Eventually this job gets to everyone. Hotch told me once he sometimes wonders how many more times we'll be able to look into the abyss before we won't be able to recover the pieces of ourselves this job takes. So far with me, even through all that's happened, not yet. Maybe I'm just too hard headed or stubborn to give up. I thought about it once but I couldn't."

"I don't think that's it," Linda responded. "I think it's your heart. You're sitting here recovering from a nearly fatal anthrax infection and yet you want to be back out there. I think your heart just can't give up on people you think need you." His eyes looked skeptical at her words. "Anybody I know…anybody, would have gotten out of that house as fast as possible but you stayed, despite the danger to yourself. That says a lot more about your heart than your head."

"I've always been valued for my brain, and that's okay. God gave it to me; I might as well use it to help people. I'm not what people normally think of as an FBI agent. I'm not physical like Morgan. I'm not experienced like Rossi or self assured and confident like Hotch. I don't have JJ's way with people and Emily's communication skills and Garcia, well you've met Garcia, you know what I mean. But I'm smart and analytical. I know a great deal and can see patterns more easily than most. So, I have my own uses within the team."

"And don't forget you're magic," she gestured to the coin he was playing with. "Is that part of a magic trick?"

He closed his hand tightly around the medallion and was quiet for quite a while, while Linda waited. "No," he eventually said barely above a whisper, "it's not part of a magic trick although it holds its own magic for me." He turned and looked at Linda noting the confusion in her eyes. Now was the moment. After this her respect for him would be lost. He inhaled a deep breath. "It's my one year medallion from Beltway Clean Cops." There, he had said it. He waited in the silence that followed for her to speak.

"Narcotics?" she finally said softly.

Reid only nodded, "How did you know?"

"Your refusal to be given any narcotics made me slightly suspicious."

Reid only nodded looking down at his hands.

"If you want to talk about it," she reached out and put her hand on his arm, "anything you say to me is totally confidential."

Of course it was, he thought, she was his doctor and nothing more. "It's not easy to talk about," he told her.

"I don't doubt that. Gar…Garcia told me something had happened to you on the job and you were in a bad way for a while after."

She could see the irritation in his eyes that his teammates had shared so much about him. Finally he took in a deep breath and stated, "A bad way, well that's a kind way of describing it."

The hand she'd put on his arm hadn't moved and gently squeezed. He looked into her eyes and saw only kindness radiating from their brown depths. "We were searching for a serial killer in Georgia…" The events of Georgia poured out of him. He told Linda Kimura every detail. To a passerby it would have seemed like he was making up some gruesome macabre bedtime story, not something he had actually lived.

"I…I found that I wanted the oblivion the Dilaudid offered. It made me forget that Mike and Pam Hayes were slaughtered before my eyes. It made me forget that if I'd picked them they'd be alive today." He paused for a moment. "If it had just made me forget, I probably could have lived with it, but it never ends there does it?" he said with disdain. "I was deceptive with my teammates. I took my anger and frustration out the hardest on Emily. She was new to the team and I guess it felt okay. It wasn't okay. I was turning into someone I didn't like to look at in the mirror." He paused again. "So after about four months, I stopped. I was doing okay until I saw this kid killed right in front of me. I tried to talk the killer down but I couldn't and he just shot the kid. I couldn't shoot him because his daughter was in front of him blocking my shot. I just wanted to forget. That's when I went to Beltway Clean Cops. This little piece of metal means a lot to me. It's like a lifeline, a reminder that I can do this; that I have the strength within me to overcome. It's also a reminder of all I have to lose if I fail. I don't intend to fail." He sat there for a moment staring at the medallion, afraid to look up, afraid of what he would see in Linda's eyes. At last he raised his brown eyes to look into hers. He saw no contempt or disappointment in them. He saw tears, tears that flowed freely from those brown orbs down her cheeks and onto her top. Reid put the medallion in the pocket of his robe and reached a shaky hand to the soft skin on her cheek to wipe away her tears.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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Kelly Heath secured a bandaid over the former IV site where she had just removed the plastic cannula. "There you go Dr. Reid, no more IV medications. You'll still have to take oral medications for about another month or two. Dr. Kimura wants to be extremely cautious."

"Thank you," he said as he waited, impatiently tapping his foot, for Linda Kimura to show up. Hopefully, now that his IV was out, she would release him.

"You're very welcome Dr. Reid," Kelly said as she turned to leave the room, wheeling the IV pole in front of her. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No Kelly, thanks, I'm fine," Reid replied as he sat on the edge of the bed. Maybe he should move to the recliner. He might look less like a patient in need of care and more like a man who was ready to get on with his life.

Since the night he'd talked to Linda about Georgia and the aftermath, none of the nurses had offered him any narcotics. Had she said something to them he wondered? They never mentioned anything and he didn't have the nerve to ask. He pulled his medallion from the pocket of his brown terrycloth robe and fingered it as a voice from the doorway said, "You're not looking too worse for wear."

"John," Reid's eyes opened wide in surprise. "What are you doing here, sir?"

"I heard about what happened of course. I didn't want to come when I might run into your team but they're presently out of town and keeping technical analyst Garcia busy so I thought it was safe to pay you a visit. How are you doing?"

"Good, I'm doing much better."

"And…any problems?"

"You mean other than the fact that my lungs were bleeding, I was coughing up blood and lost the ability to speak coherently for a while?"

"Yeah, other than that."

"I didn't allow them to give me any narcotics if that's what you're asking, not that the nurses weren't constantly offering."

"How did you feel about it?" John asked as he sat in one of the chairs for visitors.

"I felt good. I was happy I was strong enough to get through it. I mean, if a guy ever had an excuse, this was it, so I was really relieved when the worst passed and I got this back," he held up the medallion. "But I still can't wait to get out of here and go to a meeting."

"We'll be overjoyed to have you back. A few of the guys were wondering about you. They know it's not like you to miss many meetings. I couldn't say anything, of course, and wouldn't have even if I could. In any case they'll be really glad to see you."

Reid nodded. "I'll be glad to see them too."

John stood. "I better get going. I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. I hope the doctor gives you your walking papers soon." He turned and headed for the door. At the door he turned back, "Spencer, that was a very brave thing you did. You saved a lot of lives. Take care of yourself. I'll see you soon." He turned again and headed out the door.

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Linda Kimura entered his room clad today in black slacks and a black blouse contrasted with a crisp white lab coat. Her stethoscope again entwined around her neck. Her hair was wound in its familiar chignon. "So, how are you feeling this afternoon?" she asked.

"I'm feeling great. I can't wait to get out of here. Now that I no longer have the IV, I figure that's the next step," Reid said excitedly deciding that he liked it better when she wore her hair down. He'd also it liked when she'd worn the skirt. Even if she didn't have long legs that stretched on for what seemed like forever, they were very shapely. And why was she hiding herself under that lab coat. _Geez, she's your doctor and a colleague; you shouldn't be thinking like that… pervert!_

The doctor's face, the entire length of her 5'2" body in fact, seemed to deflate. "Uh…not so fast mister," she said brightly.

"What…what do you mean by not so fast? My blood work is great. My oxygen saturation levels are in the high nineties. I'm not coughing anymore. My chest x-rays are good. Like I said, I feel great."

"I know," she put her hands up to forestall any objection. "I know," she said again, "but you just got your IV out and are going to switch to oral medications. I just want to make sure everything's good with that before I discharge you."

"So, how long is it going to take to 'make sure everything's good'?"

"I don't know, no more than a day or…or two. That won't be so bad, will it?" she added quickly.

"A day or two, okay, then that's it right? I can't wait to get back to work."

"Oh no, you can't go back to work right away. I might discharge you but you can't just go back to work like nothing has happened. You'll have to recuperate at home for a couple of weeks anyway," she stated bluntly.

"A couple of weeks," Reid squeaked.

Linda Kimura put her head down trying to stifle the little grin that came to her face. Why did she always find it so adorable when he squeaked? She raised her head again, schooling her face to be emotionless and professional. "You just suffered a near fatal infection by a weaponized pathogen. It took a lot out of you. Of course you feel fine sitting here doing nothing but you might not be ready to be thrown back into work full time. At least not for two weeks and that's final." She turned on her heel and sped from the room before he could reply.

Linda rushed past the nurses' station as Kelly was getting ready to give her shift report to Sandy, Shirley and Beth on the evening shift. "What's up with that?" Kelly asked Lena who was finishing her charting as Dr. Kimura hurried by.

"Beth told me they were talking the other night in the day room and when she came back from there her eyes were all red, like she'd been crying. That's when she wrote this," Lena pointed to the doctor's orders on the chart.

_**Discontinue all Morphine**_

_**Discontinue Zopiclone and Lorazepam**_

_**If patient experiences **__**any**__** discomfort, beep me immediately**_

"What's going on?" Sandy asked as she collected the nursing care plan to make out her worksheet for the evening.

Kelly leaned over to Sandy and laughed quietly. "It looks like Dr. Reid and Dr. Kimura may have had their first fight."

Had she been too abrupt with Spencer, Linda thought as she entered her office? She just couldn't send him home until she was positive he was alright. She was only being thorough wasn't she? Perhaps she should go back and apologize to him. She turned around and left the office heading down the hallway once again towards Reid's room. As she passed the nurses' station, Kelly's voice drifted over to her.

"_It looks like Dr. Reid and Dr. Kimura may have had their first fight."_

Oh my God, were her feelings that clear to everyone? She turned for a second time in as many minutes and headed back to her office, glad that none of the nurses had seen her. If the nurses were aware of her feelings, did Spencer see it too? Did he think she just wanted him to stay so she could be close to him? She sat in her chair resting her elbows on her desk and her head in her hands. How would she ever face him now?


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

---------------------

The hallway lights were dimmed and the clock on the wall read 12:15am as General Dr. Mitch Mattingly walked towards the nurses' desk. "Good evening ladies," he said to Mardel and Connie, the night nurses and Jean, the nursing assistant.

"Good evening General," they all said at once rising from their seats.

"Please sit, so how's it going? I haven't gotten over here for a couple of days. There've been a lot of meetings at Fort Dietrich in the aftermath of this anthrax thing," he said as he sat on one of the empty swivel chairs behind the desk. "Let's have a look at those charts."

He perused each chart of the five remaining anthrax patients, all of whom had made significant improvement since the cure had been identified. He looked at the lab work, x-ray results, vital signs and doctor's progress notes saying only the occasional "Um hmm." He finished with the charts and put the last one in the holder. "Thank you ladies, you seem to have everyone well taken care of. Good night." General Mattingly stood and walked away with the straight stiff bearing of a soldier.

------------------

"Dr. Reid, you're still awake," Connie said as she was making her rounds.

Reid put down his MP3 player. "S…sorry, was I bothering someone?"

"No, not at all. I know you don't like to take sedatives but could I interest you in a backrub? A lot of patients find it very soothing."

She had such a hopeful look on her face and he had been refusing the nurses' offerings all week. "Uh yeah, I guess that would be okay."

"Good, you lie down on your stomach and I'll get the lotion from the bathroom." Connie went to the bathroom, ran the lotion bottle under hot water as she washed her hands to get them nice and warm. She returned to the room to find Reid lying prone on the bed. She poured some lotion in her hand, rubbing her hands together to further warm the lotion.

The nurse began with soft caresses on Reid's back spreading the lotion over the whole of his back, then she began to massage deep into the tissues. She could feel the tenseness in her patient's thin physique as she kneaded the muscles causing Reid to moan with contentment. She went over each area with small and large circular movements.

_Reid felt the soft hands on his back and at the nape of his neck where a ball of tension seemed to melt away. He closed his eyes as the expert hands soothed his body. He felt an "mmm" escape his lips at the ecstasy. He'd never felt anything like this in his life. The hands were soft and professional yet he felt like he tingled all over at their touch. When he could stand it no longer, he turned and reached for her, "Linda."_

"What are you doing?" Connie exclaimed as she sprang back from the bed pushing against Reid as he reached out for her.

Reid was shaken from his dream world to see Connie standing back from the bed looking like he'd just attacked her. "W…what happened?" Connie could see Dr. Reid looked very confused.

"I…I was just g…giving you a back rub and you reached out and tried to grab me. You called me Linda."

The dream came flooding back. The soft hands that had been caressing him weren't Linda's but had belonged to Connie, his nurse. "I…uh, I'm so sorry. I…uh guess I fell asleep and I was dreaming." His face turned a bright scarlet and he hung his head. "Please forgive me, I never meant to be inappropriate with you. I'm so sorry."

"Th…that's okay, sometimes dreams can seem really real can't they," the pretty woman with dark blond hair and green eyes said as she reached for the lotion bottle. "I'll just put this back in the bathroom and then you can try to get some sleep." She almost ran to the bathroom it seemed to Reid, probably in an effort to get away from you, he thought as he sat there desperately trying to think of something to say.

Connie emerged from the bathroom after washing her hands and headed for the door. "Good night Dr. Reid," she said.

"Good night, and I really am sorry," Reid repeated to which Connie merely nodded and turned once again for the door.

Reid got off his bed and started pacing his room. Oh my God, how I could have done such a thing, he thought. What if Connie told all the other nurses which he was sure she would? Would they all laugh at him or would they all think he was some kind of sick pervert? Well he only had two more days here. He supposed he wouldn't be seeing much of the nurses if they thought he was some kind of horny jerk who couldn't keep his hands to himself. They wouldn't write it in his chart would they, for all the world to see. Then the worst thought of all struck him. What if they told Linda?

---------------------

Surprised to have received a summons Linda Kimura hurried along the corridor that led to General Mattingly's office and knocked on the door, entering after hearing a curt, "Come in." The general sat behind a humungous desk which seemed appropriate for a man the size of an NFL linebacker. "Ah Linda, please sit down," he said kindly, indicating the chair in front of his desk. Linda sat as she was told while the general finished writing something on a pad. He then looked up at Linda giving her his full attention.

"How are you this morning Linda?" General Mattingly smiled broadly. He had always liked Dr. Kimura and had a fatherly concern for her.

"I'm well general and you?"

"Good, very good. I was up on the ward last night checking out the anthrax patients. You've done an excellent job with them," he began.

"Thank you general."

"They all seem to be coming along, improvement in the lungs, lesions diminishing, lab work returning to normal. In fact I was wondering why Dr. Spencer Reid is still here since he's now on oral medications. He wasn't infected as badly as the earlier victims and you got the cure to him sooner than with the others. From all accounts in his chart he appears to be doing quite well and not even requiring anything for pain."

"Uh…yes, I realize that sir. I just thought it would be prudent to keep him for a couple of days after switching him to oral medications, just to make sure he's alright," Linda explained.

"Although you may think it prudent, I don't think it's entirely necessary. I doubt that the taxpayers would appreciate footing the bill for the cost of Dr. Reid taking up a bed here for a couple of extra days. You know the president is striving to bring down the cost of health care, not inflate it." General Mattingly argued.

"With all due respect…sir," Linda stated bluntly, her tone clipped, "the taxpayers should appreciate it. Dr. Reid could have gotten out of that house as fast as he got in and possibly spared himself a lot of suffering but he didn't. He put the lives of others before his own. He helped identify Chad Brown and find the cure. General, Dr. Spencer Reid was in every way a good soldier and he deserves the very best we have to offer."

"That was quite an impassioned speech Linda," the general remarked with a slight grin.

"I'm sorry general but Dr. Reid has no family here and his team who basically act as his family are away on cases. I just wanted to make sure there were no complications before I send him home alone."

"Alright Linda," General Mattingly said with a fatherly grin. "We'll do it your way. That's it for now. Keep up the good work and have a good day my dear."

"Thank you general," Linda replied as she stood and left the office.

Once the door was closed Mitch Mattingly began to chuckle to himself. He picked up the phone and punched in a number. "Frannie," he said still laughing jovially. "You might have to give up on your search for someone for Linda."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

----------------------

Reid set his coffee down on his end table. It was good to be home at last. He took a sip of the sweet steaming brew and set to reading the stack of medical journals he had on the coffee table in front of him. He'd been lucky that the library had carried them all. Once he'd gotten home from the hospital, put all his things away and had something to eat, not forgetting to take his medication, of course, he'd then found himself on his computer delving into Dr. Linda Kimura. He found she'd graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and was highly respected among her peers and widely published in medical journals, all of which he had sitting in front of him after a quick trip to the library.

He picked up The Lancet and turned to her newest article, _H1N1, The New Pandemic. _The article was interesting and informative at the same time. The New England Journal of Medicine contained an article called _Preventing Nosocomial Infections. _He flipped to the page and there she was; her beautiful brown eyes seemed to look right at him. He found himself running his fingers over the image. He read the article and worked his way through the pile quickly until he found himself at the last one, The American Journal of Medicine. He leafed through the pages until he found the article on _Managing Vancomycin Resistant Enterococcus and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. _This article featured her photo as well. She smiled at him from the page, her long black hair surrounding her face like a mane.

He stood and began pacing the room. He had to stop this. He couldn't keep thinking of Linda Kimura in that way. Was he nuts? She was his doctor; they'd been colleagues; she'd seen him… JJ or Emily would likely kick his ass if he'd thought of them that way. Why hadn't she allowed him to go back to work even if he wasn't in the field? Perhaps looking at crime scenes and getting into the minds of serial killers would keep Linda off his mind. He grabbed his keys off the small table just inside the door and took off.

-----------------------

Linda Kimura put the magazine on her desk. She'd never read a criminal journal before but when she'd scoured the net in search of everything involving Dr. Spencer Reid, she'd found a plethora of articles published in criminal justice periodicals. She'd only managed to get her hands on a few so far; she'd read them all in time. Spencer was an excellent writer. The article she'd just read in American Behavioral Scientist, _Schizophrenia and the Criminal Mind, _had been very interesting. She hadn't wanted to put it down and do her rounds. She picked up the June, 2008 edition of Journal of Criminal Justice; she read the title and leafed through the pages until she found the article she was looking for, _The Evolution of a Serial Killer- Signs to Watch for in Children, by Dr. Spencer Reid. _She kicked her shoes off, leaned back in her chair, putting her feet on her desk and began to read.

---------------------

There was a quick rap on the door and Reid popped his head in, "Hi Garcia."

"Sweet cheeks, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be on sick leave." Garcia's fingers traveled at lightning speed over her keyboard.

"I'm going crazy at home. I've read everything there is to read. I've listened to more music than I ever want to. I've made about two million dollars on Jeopardy and I came this close," he held his fingers mere millimeters apart, "to watching a soap opera." Although it was all true, he hoped Garcia would accept it and he wouldn't have to admit to the real reason he'd had to get out of his apartment.

"Oh, you poor thing," she said facetiously.

"They still in Cleveland?" he asked, nodding toward the Plexiglas map that stood prominently in her office.

"Yep," she replied.

"And," Reid added, "what's the case?"

"Oh no you don't, you're not supposed to be here. You're still on sick leave. You're still recovering from anthrax for crying out loud!"

"I'm recovered. I'm fine, it's just Lin…Dr. Kimura, she won't sign off on me going back for two weeks. So, I just had to get out of my apartment. I was so bored."

"Reid," Garcia said sternly looking at him over the top of her glasses. "Who are you trying to kid? Your mind works twenty-four seven, even when you're sleeping. You're never bored. You're always learning something, reading something, writing some kind of article for a magazine or a paper for your next degree. So, if boredom isn't the case, I have to ask myself what else is going on with you? You want to lose yourself in work baby cakes, why?"

"N…no, I wouldn't say I want to lose myself. I just want something to occupy my mind." Reid attempted to convince his friend.

Garcia appeared unpersuaded, "When a guy wants to lose himself in his job, it usually has something to do with a woman."

"A woman," Reid squeaked, laughing unconvincingly, "what woman?"

"Um hmm," Garcia turned back to her computer. "Listen, I have to get back to this search for Hotch. You know what he's like. You also know you can't be here when you're on sick leave. If you trip and break your leg, and knowing you that's not that bizarre, you're not covered. Now out," she pointed to the door, "and let me do my work."

--------------------

Dr. Kimura wrote some notes in the charts of the four remaining anthrax patients. "I think we may be able to send Abby home tomorrow," she said.

"Tomorrow?" Sandy asked.

"Yes, I'm discontinuing her IV and putting her on oral meds so she should be able to go home."

"But…" Shirley smirked at Sandy deciding to play devil's advocate, "you wouldn't let Dr. Reid go home until he'd been on oral meds for a couple of days, why Abby?"

"I've assessed her and I'm sure she'll be alright. I've made my decision," Linda Kimura said curtly and stalked off.

"My my," Beth proclaimed, "someone's not in a very good mood today."

"I think it has something to do with that empty room down the hall," Shirley suggested.

"We hear ya sister," Beth said as the three nurses high fived each other.

-----------------------

"Hi sweet girl," Garcia said into her mouthpiece, "don't put me on speaker."

"Why, what's up Garcia? You usually call Morgan," JJ said into her cell as Morgan came into the conference room to fill his coffee cup.

"Reid was here looking for work. He said he was bored at home."

JJ laughed, "Reid bored! Did you show him to my office?" Morgan listened to JJ's side of the conversation while he doctored his coffee.

"Very funny JJ. I think he came because he was trying to get something or, more likely, someone off his mind. When I mentioned the possibility of a woman, he squeaked, turned red and back pedaled in a hurry to deny it."

"So, you really think there's something between the two of them?"

"Oh JJ, you didn't see the way he looked at her that day in the hospital. Imagine Reid staring longingly at a woman's butt."

JJ began to laugh again only harder, "Garcia, I just can't picture Reid doing that."

Reid doing what? Morgan mouthed silently, his coffee forgotten.

"Believe it, I think our sweet boy has been bitten by the love bug."

"I'll tell Emily," JJ told Garcia, "keep me in the loop."

JJ closed her phone just as Morgan said, "What's this about Reid? What are you going to tell Emily? And keep you in the loop about what?"

JJ opened her mouth to respond when Rossi stuck his head in the door, "We've got another body."


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: For those of you looking for chapter 9, the site would not allow me to upload it to my story for some inexplicable reason. So what was originally chapter 9 has become chapter 10. So just skip from chapter 8 to chapter 10 and you won't miss anything.

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JJ and Emily sat across from each other on the plane back from Cleveland. They had managed to catch the unsub, but only after he'd raped and killed his third victim. JJ's press conference had successfully lured the unsub, who saw himself as invincible, into a trap.

Morgan sat down beside Emily, "Alright you two, what's this about something going on with Reid?"

"Who said anything was going on with Reid?" Emily asked.

"I overheard JJ talking to Garcia on the phone about Reid and something between him and somebody."

"There's nothing to tell that I know of," Emily replied.

"Alright, play it that way if you want but you both know I'll find out about it from Garcia. She won't be able to hold out on her man like you two are doing. Would you rather me hear it from you or her because, either way, I'm going to find out, even if I have to ask Reid himself."

"No, don't do that," the women said together.

"Okay, out with it then," he made the come on motion with his hands.

The two women looked at each other and shrugged. "Morgan, you have to promise you won't tease him," JJ said.

"Oh come on, he's so much fun to tease," he looked back and forth between the two women who both glared at him. "Okay, okay I promise, I won't tease."

JJ and Emily shared another look and JJ nodded. "Garcia and I think Reid may be interested in Dr. Kimura and not in a professional capacity," Emily said.

"Reid and Kimura, you're kidding me, right? What makes you think he's interested in her?" Morgan's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"No, we're not kidding. When Garcia and I visited him at the hospital she stepped in for a minute and Reid was definitely checking her out," Emily told him.

"That doesn't mean anything. I check women out all the time," the muscular profiler admitted.

"Yes Morgan, we know you do but Reid's not you. He doesn't normally look at a woman that way so it was kind of obvious to us when he did," Emily added.

"My man!" Morgan exclaimed. "It's about time; the kid needs a little lovin'."

"I don't think he's made his feelings known to the good doctor, at least that's what Garcia thinks." JJ added. "He came to Quantico today looking for something to do, said he was bored."

"Reid's never bored," Emily clarified.

"Garcia thinks he wanted to get his mind off the lovely Linda," JJ explained.

"Maybe we should encourage him to ask her out," Emily suggested.

"Asking women out, that's not an easy thing for Reid. He's never really done it." He looked at JJ. "And you don't count."

"Reid asked you out," Emily asked, her eyes widening.

"It was a few years ago. It was Gideon's fault. He bought Reid some Redskin tickets for his birthday and told him I was a huge Redskin fan. What could I do. I couldn't say no."

"It didn't go well?" Emily asked.

JJ looked at Emily, "I'd rather not get into it."

"Yeah, Reid wouldn't tell me anything either," Morgan interjected, "said it was 'top secret' but you never went out again so I guess that about says it all."

"Maybe he never told you anything because it was none of your business." Emily remarked.

"Oh, and this thing with him and Kimura, that's your business?" Morgan snapped back. "Look, I care about the guy. I want him to be happy and if this woman would make him happy, I'm all for it. But we all know Reid, he's not Don Juan. He'll need help and encouragement and I intend to give it to him. Reid never had the same kind of experiences as we did." He moved his hand to include the two women. "When he was sixteen he was getting one of his doctorates at Cal Tech where all the students were years older than him. He didn't learn about dating like we did in high school. He was never a fifteen year old stammering over asking a classmate out or copping his first feel in the back seat of a car or a movie theatre. He missed all that so for him, it's like he's fifteen. He's a man; he's got the hormones, he's just never learned how to be with women."

"You're right," Emily agreed. "In so many ways he's so much older than his years and in others he's like a little boy. It's sad really."

"Yeah, it is," JJ said as she turned and looked out the window.

--------------------

"Hey baby girl," Morgan said as he walked into Garcia's office. "JJ and Emily told me what's been going on with Reid. Why have you been holding out on your man?"

"I'm going to kill those two," Garcia said as she looked at him through the lenses of her black framed glasses that today were combined with a scoop necked ruby red tank that featured red sequins around the neckline and a flared black skirt. Around her neck she wore a chunky necklace of large black beads from which hung a large red stone that nestled just near her cleavage. Her blond hair fell in curls around her shoulders. "Or maybe I'll just infect their computers with a nice little virus which would be nothing compared to what I'll do to you if you tease Reid about this."

"I already promised the others I wouldn't. Mama, you know I love the guy. I just want to help him if this is what he wants."

"Well, he wouldn't admit it, at least not to me," Garcia replied.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, when I mentioned it might be a woman, he just got red and squeaked, 'what woman'. He wouldn't admit anything."

----------------------

Reid looked at himself in the bedroom mirror and then at the paper in his hand. This was ridiculous he thought. He couldn't believe he was even doing this. He looked at the paper again and then back at the mirror. "Okay here goes," he said barely above a whisper. He cleared his throat. "Hi Dr. Kimura…Should I say that or Linda," he paused and started again. "Hi Linda, it's Spencer…Or should I say Dr. Reid…No that sounds too stuffy. Hi Linda, it's Spencer Reid…Yeah, that sounds better." He looked at the paper again. "I was wondering if you'd be interested…Is interested the right word…Maybe like…If you would like to have dinner with me."

He started pacing the room, "Then she'll say, 'No, I'm sorry, I'm seeing someone.' Of course she's probably seeing someone you idiot. She's beautiful and smart and really nice. How could she not be spok…" He stopped talking to himself as the downstairs buzzer rang.

Reid went to the door and spoke into the intercom, "Who's there?"

"It's me kid, open up," Morgan's voice came through the speaker.

"What are you doing here Morgan?" Reid asked when he opened the door moments later.

"What kind of greeting is that?" Morgan asked. "We just got back from Cleveland and Garcia said you were out of the hospital so I thought I'd come to check and see how you were."

"I'm fine Morgan. Want a beer?" he asked.

"Sure kid," Morgan replied as he headed for the couch. "What's with all the medical journals. Don't tell me you're going to be a medical doctor now."

"Uh, no," Reid scooped up the magazines and put them by the table near the door. "I have to take them back to the library. I told Garcia I was bored. I'll read anything when I'm bored," he chuckled unconvincingly.

"So, anything you want to tell me?" Morgan asked.

"Tell you…uh, no, can't think of anything. So, how was the case?"

"We got the guy but not before he claimed a third victim." Morgan swallowed a swig of his beer. "You not drinking anymore?"

"Can't, medications…Yeah, I hate when it works out like that." He added referring to the case.

"Okay Reid, I'm just going to come out with it. Garcia thinks you've got something on your mind and she's pretty sure it's a woman."

"I'm pretty sure I don't know where she got that idea. I never said anything about a woman."

"Okay, look Reid, I'm not gonna push. You just been through one hell of an ordeal. But if you ever need any help with your lady friend, just know I'm here for you."

"Morgan," Reid said with disdain, "I'm not a child."

"I know that kid. You take care of yourself." Morgan put the empty bottle on the kitchen counter and headed for the door. "Okay, I'll see you soo…" He looked down at a piece of paper on the table near the door. "No woman huh, would you like to explain this?"


	9. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: The site will not let me upload chapter 9 for some reason so I'm trying this. It's chapter 9 but labeled chapter 10 which is probably going to be confusing for people but if it lets me download the chapter I'll try anything. Sorry for the inconvenience.

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"No woman huh, would you like to explain this?"

Reid grabbed the paper out of Morgan's grasp and scrunched it tightly into a ball. His face went scarlet and he refused to meet Morgan's eyes, "It's nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing to me. It looked like you were planning to ask the good doctor out for dinner."

Reid looked at the floor, taking his anxiety out on the paper, squeezing it in his hand. "I…uh…reconsidered and decided against it."

"Why?" Morgan asked.

"If you have to ask Morgan," Reid turned and walked back into the room, "then you're not the profiler I thought you were. You know me and women."

"But this is different Reid." Morgan followed his friend to the couch. "You already know this woman. You've communicated. You know what she's like. She knows what you're like, so what's the problem? Is it because she's older than you?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it. Look, she's beautiful, smart and really nice so she's probably got a guy or tons of guys after her."

"Okay, say I accept your premise," Morgan tented his fingers together. "What if some woman liked you? She'd probably think the same thing. I mean you're a good looking guy, a little on the skinny side but if you'd come to the gym with me we could fix that. You're also smart, well that's an understatement. You're relatively nice," Morgan laughed when Reid's head whipped up. "I knew that would get a rise out of you. Anyway, who says this woman who might be attracted to you might not think the same thing, that because you're good looking, smart and nice you must have a girlfriend or women fawning all over you and she'd be wrong wouldn't she? So maybe you're wrong too. You'll never know until you try."

"No Morgan, I'm not doing it and that's the end of it so quit bugging me about it."

"Okay, but are you never going to ask a woman out because she might say no?"

"Morgan, I'm not like you. I'm not this macho man that women flock to give their numbers to in a bar." Reid said, getting up to pace the room.

"You seemed to do alright with Austin. She wanted to call you."

"Yeah, well she lives in Atlanta so there's not much chance of that. The last time I asked a woman out it… Look, let's just quit debating this. It's not happening." He took his note to his desk, opened it up and put it in his shredder. "Case closed."

----------------------

Good morning mama," Morgan said as he walked into Garcia's office.

"I'll show you a good morning stud muffin. What's up?"

"I went to see Reid last night. It's like you guys thought. He's got it bad for the doc."

"Do you think he's going to ask her out?" Garcia asked excitedly.

"I thought so at first." Morgan thought it better not to tell Garcia about Reid's notes. "But then he said no. His self esteem is in the toilet when it comes to women. He just seems to think nobody could ever want him."

"What can we do?" Garcia asked.

"I don't think there's anything we can do. I mean he has to make up his mind if Linda Kimura is worth the risk of possible rejection," Morgan responded.

"Oh, come on Morgan, that's easy for you to say. You don't often get rejected. Reid's had so much of it in his life. It's sometimes like he's been given too much to bear."

"A priest I talked to a while back told me God never gives us more than we can handle."

"Yeah, well then God must think a lot of Reid."

-----------------------

The plane taxied down the runway at Dulles. Dr. Linda Kimura was glad she was heading to Minnesota to investigate an outbreak of salmonella. There had been one death so far, an elderly woman. They had to track this down before the death toll grew. They thought at first they had narrowed it down to one restaurant but then a new batch of cases had emerged and the victims had been nowhere near that restaurant. So the mystery began, first treat the patients then find where her patients had come into contact with the bacterial agent. She smiled to herself. Maybe her job wasn't so different from Spencer's. He searched for the identity of the unsub and, once identified, hunted him down. They had identified the pathogen, now she had to hunt it down. At least with this on her mind she wouldn't spend all her time thinking about Spencer. She opened the magazine she had brought for the flight, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and turned to the article, _Graphology- A Functional and Analytic Approach to Interpreting Psychopathy and Personality Through Handwriting by Dr. Spencer Reid._

"Is that Dr. Reid?" Shirley, who sat beside Linda, asked as she glanced at the small picture in the left hand corner of the article.

"Uh yes," Linda replied. "I…uh just happened to pick this up and what do you know, there was an article in here by Dr. Reid."

Shirley looked unconvinced. "Uh…huh," she read the title, "Sounds too intense for me."

"Oh no, it's not. You would think that but he's a very good writer and he's able to explain things in such a way that they're easily…" She saw the look on Shirley's face, "Uh…I think the stewardess wants to give her spiel."

------------------

The intercom in Reid's apartment buzzed loudly interrupting the silence as he sat at his computer and attempted to work on a paper for his Metaphysics course for his philosophy degree. "Who now?" he said as he got up from his desk and headed toward the door. "Hello, who's there?" he addressed the microphone.

"It's me sweet cheeks. Let me in." Garcia's perky voice came through the microphone.

Reid's mouth turned down into a frown, not that he didn't want to see Garcia, he loved her. But, he had a feeling what this visit was about. Morgan had probably told her about his note. He'd likely never live that one down he thought as he pushed the button to admit Garcia to the building.

"Hi sweet cheeks," she said as he opened the door. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Garcia, good as new. What brings you to my humble abode as if I don't already know? I suppose you've been talking to Morgan."

"He did confirm that you had a thing for Dr. Kimura. It wasn't earth shattering news honey bunch. We girls have known for a while."

"What do you mean you've known for a while?" Reid asked suspiciously, positive he hadn't said anything to give his feelings away.

"We saw you at the hospital when Dr. Kimura came into your room and the way you were checking out her legs and her butt. It was almost like you held up a sign saying you liked what you saw."

Reid's face turned a bright crimson. He'd been caught ogling a woman. He felt like some kind of pervert. He closed his eyes praying the floor would open and swallow him up. He knew, of course, that it wouldn't and when he opened his eyes Garcia was still standing before him, her smile as bright as the yellow dress she wore. "Don't be embarrassed baby cakes, you're a man; she's a beautiful woman. It's perfectly normal that you would be interested."

The girls knew; Morgan knew. Who else was speculating on his feelings for Linda? He was sure the nurses were and now this. "I suppose I'm the laughing stock of the whole BAU?"

"No sweet cheeks, nobody's laughing. We love you. We want you to be happy and if you can be happy with Linda we're rooting for you." She turned Reid towards the living room and they sat beside each other on the couch, "How can I help?"

"Help, well I…I don't think you can really help," he replied.

"Okay, Morgan said you were thinking of asking her out but then you changed your mind, why?"

"I'm sure she's probably already got a boyfriend. You know, she's so beautiful and smart and she has this great personality." His voice sped up with each word and had risen to a squeak by the end of his declaration.

"Aargh!" Garcia uttered in frustration. "Alright, let's do it this way; you're a profiler, you study human behavior, right?" Reid nodded. "What does Dr. Kimura's behavior tell you?"

"You want me to profile Linda?" he looked astonished.

"Tell me this," Garcia asked, "who stays latest at our office."

"Hotch," Reid answered without hesitation, not quite sure where this was going.

"Did he always?" Garcia probed.

"No, he used to try to get a lot of his reports and administrative paperwork done on the plane so he could spend as much time as possible with Haley and Jack, but since the divorce he's been staying later.

"Exactly," Garcia agreed. "A person with someone to go home to will try to finish up their work and skedaddle as soon as possible to be with the person they love. JJ doesn't stay as late as she used to either."

"No," Reid conceded, "that's true."

"So look at Dr. Kimura. Did she rush home every day?"

"No, she stayed late at night." He recalled her sitting by his bedside while he entertained her with magic tricks and their late night talk in the day room.

"I rest my case;" Garcia said smugly, "Linda Kimura does not have someone to go home to."

An hour later Garcia had convinced Reid to call Linda and he had tried his lines out on her. "That's great sweet cheeks. Try not to stammer although it really doesn't matter that much because on you it's adorable."

"Should I do it now?" he asked.

"No time like the present, do you want me to go or stay for moral support?"

"You can stay," he told his friend as he dialed the number on the card Linda had given him in case of emergency. After identifying himself to the woman who answered the phone Garcia heard him ask to speak to Dr. Kimura. He listened and said, "I see," and then after a pause, "yes I am and no, it's not that important, thank you. I'll call again." He ended the call and turned to Garcia. "She's in Minnesota, some kind of outbreak." He was silent for a moment. "It's probably for the best. That woman just reminded me that, technically, I'm still her patient until I see her for my two week appointment and she signs my okay to return to duty." Two weeks and he could ask her out. Why did he get the feeling those two weeks would seem like forever?


	10. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: Cross your fingers that it works today folks!

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People scurried back and forth in the midst of their busy day at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre as Reid sat alone in the tiny waiting area outside Linda Kimura's office. Since she didn't have a regular practice, there was no need for a large waiting room he supposed. His foot tapped nervously as he glanced again at the clock on the wall. The hands had not appeared to move since the last time he'd looked at it. He knew this wasn't uncommon. In anxious times the hands of the clock seemed to slow, to the mind's eye at least, he told himself. He also reminded himself of the fact that research had found that time became distorted when one's health went through changes. He supposed being infected with anthrax applied.

Finally the door opened and there she was. Her lustrous black hair was once again in a French braid that fell down her back. She wore a pink blouse with a black skirt under her white lab coat. She looked over in his direction and her lips curved into a warm smile that carried on all the way to her beautiful brown eyes.

Reid stood from the uncomfortable vinyl covered chair he'd been sitting on. Linda couldn't believe how good he looked. She allowed her eyes a moment to drink in the sight of him, his unruly hair was combed back off his face. It looked like he'd applied some gel in an attempt to control it. Grey dress pants were matched with a blue chambray shirt topped with a black sweater vest trimmed in white under a grey cord jacket. A black and white polka dot tie completed the look. His lips turned up into a grin as he looked at her.

They stood, momentarily transfixed, as if neither wanted to break the spell of the moment. Finally Linda took her eyes off the man who had been on her mind so much lately and, almost imperceptibly, shook herself back to the clinician she was. "Hello Spencer, how are you?"

"Good," Reid replied, stepping forward, "and you?"

"I'm very well thank you," she said as she closed the door.

"How have you been feeling?" she asked as she indicated the chair in front of her desk. "Any difficulties?"

"I've been great, nothing to complain about except the fact that I'm itching to get back to work. I've done a lot of reading, way too much TV watching and even finished all my term papers," Reid concluded.

"Well…uh…let's have a listen then." She pulled her stethoscope from around her neck and was about to put the ear tips in place, "If you could just loosen your tie and undo a few buttons please."

"Oh…oh sure," Reid said as he pulled on the silk fabric at his neck. His usually dexterous fingers seemed to fumble over the buttons while Linda waited. He undid the first few buttons of his shirt and she slid her hand in the opening placing the diaphragm of the stethoscope against his skin. He breathed in and out as directed, although he wondered how he managed to with her head so close he could smell the scent of her shampoo, while she moved the stethoscope to another point on his chest. He longed to sigh as her fingers brushed his skin each time she moved the instrument. _Could she hear how fast his heart was beating? Of course she could he told himself as the thought of Poe's story, The Tell Tale Heart, ran through his mind. His heartbeat would be telling its own tale wouldn't it?_

Linda listened like the highly trained practitioner she was. She hoped her trembling hands weren't giving her away. _Could he feel them shaking against his skin. He'd be wondering what in heaven's name was wrong with her. How was she supposed to_ _concentrate on his lung sounds when she could feel his breath on her hair._ When she was satisfied she stood to her full 5' 2" and removed the ear tips. She looked down when she spoke, not sure she could look in his eyes and not give herself away, "Everything sounds good. There are no adventitious sounds and air entry is good." She returned her stethoscope to its place around her neck while Reid did up his buttons and tightened his tie. She sat in the chair behind her desk. "Your blood work and the x-ray they did yesterday were normal," she told him.

Reid nodded, "It sounds like everything's good for me to return to work." He pulled a piece of paper from his jacket's inside pocket and handed it to her. "You just have to sign on the dotted line."

Linda set the sheet of paper on the desk in front of her as she read the words she'd read hundreds of times in her career. It stated that, whoever's name she put on the blank, was fit to return to duty with no restrictions. Her hand began to shake. _What if he got shot? What if he stumbled into another situation like he had with the anthrax? What if he came across another madman who wanted to use him to exact torture? What if…?_

"Is something wrong?" Reid's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Uh…no, no not at all," she quickly scribbled her name on the document before she lost her nerve, praying she wasn't signing his death warrant. She folded the paper up slowly and handed it back to him, pulling her hand away quickly as their fingers touched briefly. _She felt almost like a silly schoolgirl. She must be ten years older than him. He'd never be interested in her. Then why does he invade my thoughts every day and my dreams every night? _"There, good as new," she smiled because she knew if she didn't she'd cry.

"Thanks, it'll be good to get back to work at last." An awkward silence settled in. _Say something you idiot. You're supposed to ask her out. The way she pulled her hand away just now, it was like she didn't even want to touch me. Well, I guess I'm not her patient anymore so she doesn't have to. _He stood. "Uh, thanks again for everything you did. If you hadn't found that cure I'd be…" he left the sentence unfinished.

"You told me where to look for it. We did it together." Linda told him. "It was an honor to work with you."

"Yeah, I guess we did do it together. It was an honor to work with you too. Well, I should, uh, go now and not take up more of your time." He reached the door and turned back giving her a little wave, "Thanks again."

Reid ran across the street to Starbucks. Garcia had insisted on meeting him there afterward. He saw her sitting at one of the tables, a coffee in front of her. He wanted to turn tail and run right out of the place but he didn't have the heart to do that to his friend. He got his own coffee and went to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down. "Well, sweet cheeks, how did it go?"

"She signed my return to work, that's the important thing," he told her.

"Reid," Garcia said suspiciously, "you did ask her out didn't you?"

Reid looked at the table for so long Garcia began to worry. "Reid, it's okay honey if she said no. It happens to everyone, even Morgan. Look at Jordan, she never said yes to him."

"She didn't say no. I didn't give her the chance because I didn't ask her."

"Reid, why not?"

"I just don't think she'd be interested in me," he said.

"Why, did she say something?" Garcia asked.

"No, she was totally professional. There I was, I could hardly breathe when she told me to because I'm lost in the scent of her and she's totally professional. She said it was an honor to work with me." Reid took a sip of his coffee.

"Oh well, don't worry about it." Garcia smiled broadly at her friend. "JJ and Emily are meeting me here. We'll cheer you up."

"Oh Garcia, I'm not in the mood for that." He stood. "You guys have a good time. I'm gonna take off. I'll see you tomorrow." He turned before Garcia had a chance to reply and headed for the door, his head down and in the process, bumped into a woman who was coming in. "I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

"Dr. Reid, it's nice to see you again," the voice said as he looked up to see Shirley, one of his nurses. She was followed by Sandy and Connie who both waved at him.

"Hi," he waved back, "nice to see you again." He was quickly out the door.

"I'll get a table. Get me my usual okay," Shirley said as she found an empty table next to Garcia.

"Hi," the tech goddess said, "I recognize you. You were one of Reid's nurses."

Shirley pointed to the others, "We all were but we can't talk about him if that's where you're going."

"Oh yes, I understand, confidentiality, but maybe you could tell me something. How well do you know Dr. Kimura?"


	11. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: I hope this posts. Thanks to all those who've waded through the confusion on the site and read and reviewed even if you did it through PMs because your reviews were not being accepted on the site. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope things get back to normal soon.

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"Dr. Kimura, why are you asking about her?" Shirley asked.

"Okay, it's like this. My friend who just left has a thing for her but he's so shy and he's convinced that she's not interested in him. You've seen them interact; what do you think?"

Garcia saw a slow smile come to Shirley's face. "Oh, I'd say she's definitely interested. In fact, I've never seen her quite as interested in a patient as she was with Dr. Reid. We all thought so. We've even got a pool going as to when they'll get together." Sandy and Connie arrived with the coffees just as JJ and Emily entered. They waved at Garcia and went to get their own coffees.

The two women joined the group that had formed between the two tables. They all exchanged greetings. "Is Reid done yet?" JJ asked.

"Yeah," Garcia replied.

"Well, where is he? Did he ask her out?" Emily was eager to know.

"He left a few minutes ago," the tech told them, "and, no, he didn't ask her out?"

"Why not?" Emily asked.

"He chickened out. He thought she wasn't interested. That's where my new friends come in," she indicated the nurses. "They believe that Dr. Kimura has the hots for our gorgeous genius and they've even got a pool going as to when they'll get together."

"So, what do we do?" JJ asked. "If we tell him that, he'll know we were talking about him with the nurses and he'll be mortified."

"You're right, sooo…that means we'll have to be creative. Shirley," Garcia handed the nurse a piece of paper. "Write your phone number down here and we'll be in touch." Shirley wrote her number on the paper provided.

------------------------

SA Cynthia Street approached Reid's desk with a piece of paper. "Dr. Reid, this message came in for you." She handed Reid the paper.

Reid read the message as Agent Street moved to return to her desk. "Did you take the message Street?" he asked.

"Yes sir, I did," she replied.

"Did she say what she wanted?" He looked baffled by the note. It made Cynthia Street smile. Dr. Reid seldom looked baffled.

"No sir, she said you had worked very well together in the past and she needed your advice. I assumed it was about a case she was working on."

"Why didn't she just call me and ask?"

"She did, you weren't at your desk, that's why I took the message. She said she'd be out of the office the rest of the day and incommunicado."

"Okay," Reid said shaking his head, "thanks Street."

---------------------

Sandy knocked on Dr. Kimura's door. "Come in," Linda said from within.

"Hi Dr. Kimura, I've got a message for you," she put the piece of paper on the desk and turned to leave.

"Sandy, when did this call come in?"

"A little while ago when you were in your meeting with General Mattingly," the nurse replied.

"W…was he alright?" She couldn't keep the fear from her voice. "Did he say he was feeling ill or anything?" She'd thought he was completely recovered but this was a stain they hadn't dealt with before.

"No, he sounded completely fine. From the way he was talking about you two working together, it sounded like it might be about a case. He said he valued your opinion."

"Oh, okay, I see. Thank you Sandy."

The nurse nodded and left the room with a grin.

--------------------

Garcia, Emily and JJ were hunkered down in Garcia's office. "Sandy called and she gave Kimura the note," Garcia told them.

"How did she react?" JJ asked

"Sandy said her first thought was that something was wrong with our sweet boy but Sandy said she seemed to believe her explanation."

"I saw Street give Reid the note," Emily said. "It was a stroke of genius having Street answer the phone when you pretended to be Kimura. Lucky thing Street doesn't know her voice. Reid might have suspected something if one of us had given him the note but Street was telling the truth as she knew it so I don't think he's on to us in any way."

"Did you guys arrange everything," Garcia asked to reassure herself that the evening would be perfect.

"Yep, it's all arranged. All they have to do is show up," JJ said. "The only thing that's bothering me is, will Reid ever forgive us?"

--------------------

Reid looked at himself in the mirror of the men's locker room. Should he raid his go bag and change clothes? What if they got a case and he needed it. No, he told himself, he better not do that. He straightened his wine colored tie that accompanied his black and brown checked shirt which was topped with a brown tweed vest worn with brown pants. He shrugged his arms into his tan cord jacket, ran his comb through his hair and gave himself another cursory look. It would have to do he supposed.

Why had she wanted to meet him at a restaurant, he wondered. If she needed a consult on a case, why couldn't the rest of the team be involved, he asked himself as he maneuvered through the early evening traffic.

Reid pulled into the parking lot of the Japanese restaurant she'd chosen. Tanaka of Tokyo, he read the sign. He supposed it was one of her favorites considering her culture. He pulled down the visor and looked at himself briefly in the mirror again before exiting his vehicle and heading into the restaurant.

The lights were dim and Linda had to let her eyes become accustomed to the change from outside. "Table for one," the hostess asked.

"No, I'm uh…meeting someone," she said, her eyes scanning the dining room. She spied him at a secluded corner table lit by a single candle. "I see him now, thank you," she told the young woman.

Reid glanced around just as Linda was making her way to the table. He swallowed a huge lump in his throat at the sight of her. The Japanese beauty wore a black skirt topped with a burgundy embroidered silk jacket that fit her petite body to perfection and featured matching piping and a mandarin collar. Her hair was not pulled back from her face tonight but, allowed to flow freely, it cascaded in soft curls around her shoulders. She was made taller by a pair of black stiletto heels. Reid jumped up from his chair as she reached the table. "Hi," he squeaked.

"Hello Spencer," she replied, mesmerized as she always was by the mere sight of him.

"You look good," he said reminding her of that fateful day in Nichols' home.

"No hazmat suit this time," she declared with a laugh as he held her chair for her. "Do you come here often?" Linda asked unable to take her eyes off him.

"No, I've never been here before," he told her.

So, she thought, he had chosen this restaurant for her. That was sweet of him.

"So what did you want to see me about?" they said together.


	12. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: Thanks to all who continued to read and review even during problems with the site. You're the greatest!

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"You called me," they again said together. A period of silence followed.

"I…I never called you," Reid stammered. "I…I got a message from Agent Street that you had called. I thought it was about some pathogen case you were working on and maybe wanted FBI assistance." He looked at her as if to say, your turn.

"Okay, I got a message from Sandy that you had called. I was led to believe the same thing, that you wanted my help with a case."

There was silence at the table again as the realization finally hit them. "It looks like we've been set up," Linda surmised.

"Yeah, and I think I know by whom." He told her about Garcia meeting him at Starbucks, conveniently leaving out the gist of their conversation. "I decided to leave when I found out the other girls were coming and on the way out I ran into Shirley, literally. I guess the six of them must have put their heads together. Garcia can get pretty determined when she gets her mind on something."

"It appears my nurses can too," Linda replied.

"Don't be too hard on them. Please don't fire them or anything. I'm sure it was Garcia's idea," Reid pleaded in the nurses' defense.

_Fire them, I wish I could give them a raise. _ "Don't worry, I won't fire them," she said instead.

"I'm really sorry about this," Reid said hoping Linda wasn't too angry.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. You were as much a victim in this scheme as I was." She paused for a moment. "I'm not really that upset. Why wouldn't I want to spend an evening with a very attractive man that I've come to l…like and admire."

Reid could feel his face turning pink and was glad of the dimness of the restaurant. He prayed she couldn't see it. "I suppose you're right, we should make the best of it."

"Good," she agreed, "because I'm starving." She opened the menu as she spoke.

"I must admit I don't know what most of these things are," he said as he took in the offerings on the menu. Linda went about explaining the dishes, all which seemed to consist of fish.

"Oden is very good," she suggested. It's a hot pot made with daikon radish, hanpen fish cakes, chikawa fish cakes and boiled eggs." He seemed to turn green as she spoke. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. Ever since Georgia with the burning fish hearts and livers, I haven't been able to eat fish."

"Oh Spencer, I never thought." Her tiny hands reached out to gently cover his large ones as they rested on the table in front of him. As small as they were they infused him with her inner warmth. He should have felt uncomfortable at this gesture, he thought, but somehow he didn't. "Would it be better if we left here and got a burger or something?"

_Man, you can't even be a normal date. You go to a nice restaurant with a beautiful woman and you have to have issues with fish. _"Why would you, think of it I mean, and, no, I don't want to go somewhere else. Is there anything on the menu that isn't fish and by the way, I'm uh…no good with chopsticks."

"Okay then, how about I order for us," Linda said, picking up the menu just as the waitress appeared to take their order. "We'd like to start off with fried wonton, then the miso soup and finally okonomiyaki," Linda told her.

"Very good," the waitress, a young woman of Japanese ancestry wearing a floor length dress of white silk embroidered with lotus blossoms, said as she went off to fill the order.

Reid raised his eyebrows. "The fried wontons you can eat with your fingers, the miso soup is eaten with a spoon and okonomiyaki is like a Japanese pizza made with beef and pork that you can eat with your hands. How did I do?" Linda asked.

"You did very well, thank you," Reid replied.

"No problem, they're all things I love," she told him. "Have you gotten over your anger yet?"

"I know they were just trying to do something nice for me," he moved his hand back and forth to include her, "for us, but I hate being outside my comfort zone. As you've probably guessed, I don't do well at dating."

"Why would you think that?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Because most women don't want to date a geek," he told her.

"Well this is your lucky day," she smiled up at him and he found himself drowning in the depths of her brown eyes. "I'm not most women."

_No, you most definitely are not. _"And I'm extremely grateful for that," he said barely above a whisper as the waitress arrived with the wontons.

Through dinner which Reid found delicious, if not totally unexpected, they discussed a plethora of subjects. Reid talked about schools he'd attended, work, hobbies and Linda was surprised to learn that he liked to draw. She talked about her work, moving to America when she was three, assimilating into a whole new culture and her passion for Ikebana.

"Japanese flower arrangement," Reid said, "an ancient art that dates back over 1500 years."

"Um hmm," Linda agreed. "My grandmother was an expert at it. She taught my mother who taught me. I always have a fresh one in my tokonoma." Reid looked confused. "That's a small sacred alcove in Japanese rooms. It usually contains a flower arrangement, incense and a candle."

"Is it difficult to be part of two worlds?" Reid asked as he sipped on sake served in a small black handleless ceramic cup that Linda had told him was called a choko.

"Most of the time I'm a totally American woman. It's only at home and with my family that our traditions are still, to some degree, maintained. But I guess the adherence to old traditions is part of living in this melting pot that's called America."

The waitress reappeared and asked if they would like dessert. "I think we'll have anmitsu and some green tea please?" She was smiling after the waitress left.

"Alright," Reid said suspiciously, "what's anmitsu? What have you gotten me into?"

"Don't worry; I think you'll like it. With a little twist," she winked, "it's a Japanese form of Jell-O."

Reid glanced at his watch when the waitress came with the bill that he'd succeeded in fighting Linda to pay. Was it going on for 11pm? Where had the time gone? They'd been here all evening. The patrons were thinning out. A large Japanese family was ahead of them with, what Reid counted as, eight children. Better you than me buddy he thought. "Lisa hold on to Jimmy's hand until we get in the car." The girl who appeared about ten grabbed her little brother's hand with a huge sigh. There were probably times when having siblings was a pain but he'd always felt it was something wonderful he'd missed out on. The early June night was dark now when they stepped into the street. The stars twinkled brightly in the night sky.

"Look," Linda pointed, "a falling star." She closed her eyes to make a wish although tonight it almost seemed like all her wishes had come true. Little Lisa looked up at the star too but Jimmy wasn't interested and broke free from his sister. He began to run into the street. Reid ran out to catch the young boy while his older brother leapt forward as well. In his attempt the young teen brushed roughly past Linda knocking the petite doctor off her high stiletto heels and Reid heard a sharp groan as she hit the pavement.


	13. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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"Linda," Reid called out after hearing her cry of pain. He'd reached Jimmy just ahead of his older brother and handed the wayward child off to the teen and hurried back to Linda. She was on the sidewalk on her left side. The children's parents were bent over her asking if she was alright.

"I think I'm okay," she said, "a little stunned there for a moment."

"Let me help you up," Reid said as he gently pulled Linda almost to her feet like she weighed nothing more than a rag doll.

Linda attempted to stand on her feet. "Ow, ow, ow," she lifted her left foot off the ground. "I can't put any weight on that foot. I think I may have sprained it."

"What if it's broken?" Reid said still holding her up.

"I don't think it is. I can move my toes. It's painful but I can do it."

"I'm taking you to the ER anyway." Reid said as he picked Linda up in his arms and began walking toward the parking lot.

Jimmy's parents and the teen, whose name the couple learned was Jason, followed alongside apologizing profusely. Linda was gracious although Reid could see she was in pain. They handed Linda her purse and keys.

Linda clicked her remote to unlock her car and Reid deposited her as gently as he could in the front passenger seat. He moved the seat back, whipped off his jacket and folded it into a little pillow for under Linda's foot. "Man, that thing is swelling up big time," he said as he ran around to the driver's side. He adjusted the seat and the rear view mirror to his height and took the keys from Linda.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Uh huh," she smiled at him but he knew she was lying.

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After fifteen minutes of maneuvering Linda's car through Washington traffic he pulled into the ER at George Washington University Hospital. Reid saw a wheelchair just inside the first set of doors and ran to retrieve it. He opened the passenger door and held Linda tightly in his arms as she pivoted into the wheelchair. _I've longed to have her in my arms but did it have to be like this?_

They headed into the ER through the electronic doors that parted for them like the Red Sea. There were several people sitting in the rather uncomfortable looking chairs of the waiting room but none of their ailments looked particularly serious. A heavy set black woman almost as tall as Reid came bustling over. She wore blue scrubs and her hair fell down her back in cornrow braids. "What seems to be the problem here?" she asked.

"She fell," Reid supplied. "She can't put any weight on her left ankle and, as you can see, it's very swollen.

"Yes, I see, I'll get her into an examination room right away." Reid began to follow the woman wheeling Linda when she turned, "You'll have to stay out here now sir," said the nurse whose name tag Reid now noticed identified her as Rachael.

"I'll be right out here okay?" He smiled at Linda and squeezed her hand. She grimaced slightly as her hand was scraped from trying to break her fall. _I've wanted so much to hold hands with him but this wasn't quite what I had in mind. _

It had seemed like Reid had been sitting in the ER for hours but the clock on the wall proclaimed it was only 12:30 am when Rachael came and said Linda was free to go. She came out of the examination room on crutches, her ankle bandaged tightly with an ace bandage. Her feet were now bare, her high heeled stilettos carried by Rachael who handed them to him. "I'll go get the car," he said as he ran out of the ER.

_Yep, you sure got him running the other way in a hurry. _Linda sat on the chair and waited for Reid to bring the car around. She'd imagined this date a thousand times but never in her wildest dreams had it turned out like this.

Reid hurried to the parking lot to retrieve Linda's car. Why had he run after that kid? He should have stayed with Linda. She was his date. He should have protected her. _One date with you and she's on crutches. No wonder you can't get a date._

Reid pulled the car up to the ER entrance and Linda hobbled out to the vehicle on crutches using her own steam. She got awkwardly into the front passenger seat. Reid once again rested her foot on his jacket. Reid closed the door, stored the crutches in the back seat and got into the driver's seat. They sat quietly for a few moments until Reid said awkwardly, "I don't know where you live."

-------------------

Reid pulled into the driveway of Linda's condo at 1 am. He helped her out of the car and she managed to get from the car to the steps that led to her front door. She refused Reid's offer of help on the steps but teetered so far backward on the first one and would have fallen if Reid hadn't caught her. "How about I just carry you in?" he said as he scooped her into his arms once again. Linda unlocked the door, turned off her alarm switching on the light.

The two story high entryway was bathed in light from a decorative hanging fixture. A round table sat to the right of the door next to a small powder room and a closet was to the left. He carried Linda down the hall where it broke off on one side to an open kitchen with stainless steel appliances and rich oak cabinets with a dining room beyond the kitchen island. A winding staircase to the upper level led off from the other side of the hallway.

The living room was just beyond that and it was here that Reid took Linda. She flicked the light switch as they passed and the room lit up. A sofa with a chaise at one end commanded center stage in the room. He set Linda down gently on the soft gold velvet and put one of the throw pillows under her foot. "You could have put me down once we were inside," Linda scolded. "I could have walked here with the crutches."

"I know but I was afraid that I might hurt you when I put you down so I just decided to carry you in. You're on your own now, I promise," he said as he surveyed the rest of the room. A fireplace in rust, black and tan slate faced the sofa. The far side of the room featured a bay window and the French doors that led out back. In front of the bay window sat two chairs upholstered in a rust, gold and tan paisley separated by a round table. Next to the fireplace an entertainment center was built into the wall featuring a huge plasma screen that could be comfortably watched from either the couch or the chairs. Soft beige silk draperies contrasted with grass blinds. On the wall next to the staircase was Linda's tokonoma containing her flower arrangement, incense and a candle. "Nice place."

"Thank you, I like it," Linda replied.

"Do you need anything? You'll want to change," Reid asked.

"All my stuff is upstairs…" Linda began.

"Well considering what happened outside, I don't think going upstairs is a good idea for you. Tell me what you need and where to find it and I'll get it for you."

She looked unsure at first but then relented, "Behind the door in my ensuite bathroom there are sleep pants and a tee shirt." _So much for looking sexy for him. That went out the window when you landed on the cement. _Now comfort was the only goal.

Reid returned about a minute later with the items and looked relieved when she said she didn't need help. "I'll go in the kitchen and make an ice pack for your ankle."

Linda heard him opening drawers and banging ice on the counter as she struggled to get her clothes off and her sleepwear on. It didn't bother her that he was going through her kitchen. She stood on her right leg with the help of one crutch to pull her pants up one handed and sat down quickly throwing her tee shirt over her head. She was sitting back in her place on the chaise when Reid cleared his throat, "Is it okay to come in?"

"Yes," Linda called.

Reid entered with a freezer bag full of ice and a thick fluffy towel from upstairs. "I brought a towel in case it melts and leaks. I don't want it to get on your couch." He stopped dead. _How can she be dressed in her old sleep clothes with her ankle bandaged up and still look so beautiful? _

"Spencer, thank you so much. I'm so sorry that this happened and spoiled the evening. You can take my car since yours is still at the restaurant. Maybe one of the team can help you pick it up tomorrow," she laughed, "I guess I mean later today."

"First of all, you're welcome; secondly, you have nothing to be sorry for; thirdly, you didn't spoil the evening at all and fourthly, I'm not going anywhere!"


	14. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

------------------

"What do you mean?" Linda looked confused.

"I mean I'm staying right here so you can and will stay right there." He pointed to her place on the sofa. "I'll be here to fetch you anything you need."

"That's very kind of you but you really don't have…" Linda argued.

"I know I don't have to, I want to…to make sure you're alright. I'm sorry this happened. I shouldn't have gone after that kid. I should have stayed with you. You were my date. If I had stayed with you, you might not be sitting here with a swollen and very painful sprained ankle."

"Of course you had to go after him. He was in danger of running into a busy street. It's who you are. I wouldn't l…uh…respect you as much as I do if you weren't that kind of person. It's the same thing that sent you into Nichols' house when you saw him on the floor in a pool of blood. You knew it could be dangerous but you went in anyway because that's the man you are. Don't ever apologize for that."

"Okay," Reid stood there awkwardly.

"Are you going to sit down? If you're going to be here all night I want you to make yourself comfortable." Reid almost laughed at her statement. She didn't realize how uncomfortable it would be to sit beside her and not touch her but he sat down anyway.

"Feel free to go anywhere in the house," Linda told him.

Reid jumped up. "Do you need anything? Do you need something for pain, some Tylenol maybe?"

"No, not right now, they gave me 60mg of Codeine in the ER. It's made me kind of sleepy." She yawned. "Sorry."

"That's okay, it's going on for 2am anyway, here," Reid grabbed another throw pillow, "let me put this behind your head." He grabbed a rust colored throw from the back of the sofa. "I'll just cover you with this." He went to the light switch that dimmed the recessed lighting to almost dark. "I'll leave just a little light so I don't trip on something in the dark."

Reid went to the front door to make sure it was locked and to set the alarm system. Suddenly remembering his jacket on the floor of Linda's car, he went out to retrieve it along with her shoes before locking up for the night. He stopped in the dining room to hang his jacket over the back of one of the chairs and removed his vest, his tie and his glock. He undid some buttons on his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. When he returned to the living room Linda appeared to be asleep. Her breathing was slow and regular. He fixed the throw so she was completely covered, sat on the other end of the sofa and removed his shoes and socks, setting them off to the side. He sat there wondering if he should try to sleep or sit up in case she needed anything. He eventually decided to lay his head down on the arm of the sofa, scrunching his legs up so they wouldn't hit Linda, something he was used to from sleeping on the jet. He closed his eyes as weariness took over and thought, this gave sleeping together on the first date a whole new meaning.

------------------

The light was filtering softly through the grass blinds covering the bay window. Reid sensed movement at the end of the sofa and opened his eyes. It took a moment for him to register where he was. He sat up and turned in Linda's direction. She was sitting up with her right foot on the floor reaching for her crutches. "What do you need Linda? I'll get it for you."

"No, you can't help me with this," she said as she stood with the aid of the crutches. "You can't go to the bathroom for me." She hurried down the hall as fast as her crutches would allow. Reid heard the door to the powder room open and close.

He waited for a few minutes but when she didn't return he walked down the hallway. He tapped lightly on the door. "Linda, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, I'll just be a minute."

The door opened a few minutes later and Linda made her way back to the sofa. She noticed Spencer was in the kitchen when she passed. "I made you a new ice pack," he said as she settled herself back on the couch. He put the ice pack around her ankle. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty good, I only woke up when nature called."

"How's the ankle?"

"It's a little sore right now," she said and Reid dashed for the stairs.

"Is the Tylenol upstairs in the medicine cabinet?" He asked.

"Uh huh," Linda replied. She could hear him walking around above her. He returned shortly with a bottle of Tylenol which he handed to her and went in search of water.

He came back with a glass of water. "I'm going to go make coffee and then I'll start on breakfast."

"What are you making for breakfast?" Linda asked.

"I don't know what you have. I thought of omelets. I'm not too bad at those. I used to make them for my mother a lot when I was a kid," he called out from the kitchen as he filled the coffee carafe with water and began filling the reservoir on the coffee maker.

"I want to help," Linda's voice was not far behind him startling him so he spilled water all over the counter.

Reid's mouth and eyes both opened wide when he saw her. "What are you doing up? I'll make the omelet and bring it to you. Go back and sit down with your foot up."

"I'm going to sit at the dining room table and put my foot up on one of the chairs," she informed him firmly. "You can bring me that chopping board, a knife, onions, mushrooms, a pepper and ham. I'll get chopping while you work on the eggs." With that she turned into the dining room and set herself up at the table and waited for him to bring the requested items.

Reid loaded the mushrooms, onions, a pepper and some cooked ham on the cutting board, grabbed a knife from the block of knives and carried it to her, plunking it unceremoniously in front of her with the words, "Doctors make the worst patients."

"You would know," she giggled. Once she had cut everything up, Reid tried to send her back to the living room promising to bring the meal when it was ready. "I'm fine here Spencer. I'm sitting; my foot is up. I'll eat breakfast here then I promise to go back and sit in the living room like a good girl."

"Do I sense a little sarcasm?" Reid asked as he concentrated thoroughly on the task at hand, uneasy with Linda's undivided attention.

"Sarcasm, who me!" she said as she fingered the corduroy of his jacket hanging over the back of the chair. "I see you went out and got your jacket."

"Yeah, last night, I brought your shoes in too. I put them in the corner of the living room." Reid told her as the eggs fried in the skillet.

"I don't ever want to see those shoes again," Linda lamented.

"I never could understand how you women walk in those things. By my calculations it would throw your center of gravity off big time."

"Ya think," Linda chuckled. "Vanity thy name is Linda. With my height I like to try to look a little taller if I can and, well, stilettos are supposed to make one's legs look more sex…uh…shapely."

"What are you talking about? You have great legs," Reid blurted out absently, then turned scarlet. _How could you have just said that? _He headed quickly for the fridge. "Orange juice, that's what we need, orange juice." He set about pouring the liquid into glasses.

Reid didn't speak again until he set an omelet, toast, orange juice and coffee in front of Linda. "Enjoy," he said as he went back to the kitchen for his own.

"This is so good," Linda mumbled with her mouth full. "Sorry about that," she said after she swallowed.

"Thanks," Reid replied after which they ate in silence, each suddenly seeming acutely aware of the nearness of the other.

"Now, back to the living room for you while I clean up," Reid took their empty plates and glasses into the kitchen.

Linda saluted, "Yes sir," and stood awkwardly on her crutches, refusing Reid's offer of help and made her way back into the living room.

After loading the dishwasher, Reid returned to the living room and set about examining Linda's entertainment center. "You've got quite an eclectic collection of music, jazz, rock, country, gospel, classical, what, no rap?"

She shook her head, "No rap."

"What do we have here?" Reid said as excitedly as a child on Christmas morning when he pulled a box set of DVDs from the bottom of the entertainment center. "I don't believe it. Linda Kimura, you're a trekkie!"


	15. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: The song quote is from "If You Say My Eyes Are Beautiful" composed by E. Willensky. You can hear it on youtube. It is performed by Whitney Houston and Jermaine Jackson.

-----------------

"Linda Kimura, you're a trekkie!"

"Guilty as charged," the brunette beauty said as she put her head down.

"I love Star Trek. What better thing to do on a Saturday morning when you're laid up with a sprained ankle than to get lost in the adventures of the crew of the Starship Enterprise." He clicked the remote that turned on the television, then opened the tray of the blue ray player. What's your favorite episode?" he asked.

"The Deadly Years," Linda replied.

"Great choice, season two, episode twelve; that's the one where the landing party all get infected with a disease causing rapid aging and senility. Everybody gets it except Chekov and they end up using adrenalin as the cure. How like you to be interested in one that has a viral agent infecting everybody."

"What's your favorite then," she asked.

"Wolf in the Fold," Reid told her.

"Uh huh, that's the one where they go on shore leave and these murders keep occurring. The Rigelians think Scotty's a Jack the ripper type serial killer. Now how did I know you'd be interested in that one?"

"Yeah, well hold on before you pull something from patting yourself on the back," Reid said, popping the DVD in the tray, "luckily they're on the same disc." He stood and came to the couch sitting cross legged and recited with the voice on the screen, "Space… the final frontier…" while Linda shook her head and smiled.

----------------------

"His car's not in his space in his parking lot," Garcia said into her cell. "I stopped by to see how the date went and if he's still talking to me but his car's not here."

"Maybe he's out Garcia. Did you ever think of that?" Emily said as she sorted her laundry.

"All the places he goes are in the neighborhood. He usually walks to the market, the library and the movie theater."

"Well Garcia, I'm stumped. Now if you'll excuse me, I have laundry to do," Emily said tersely. "Bye Garcia," she flipped her cell closed.

Damn, Garcia thought as she made a right and continued down the street and passed Tanaka of Tokyo. I need to know what hap…"Well, will you look at that."

--------------------------

"That feels better," Linda said as she made her way back to the couch. "Thanks for helping me with the stairs. I needed that shower and a change of clothes." She now wore a royal blue shirt and a pair of faded blue jeans.

"No problem, thanks for letting me use your shower." Reid said as he made sure the pillow was once again placed under her ankle after she had rewrapped the ace bandage and situated herself on the couch. "The swelling's going down a bit I think."

"Uh hmm, it feels a bit better. What's this?" She reached over to grab a clipboard that was sitting on the gold leather ottoman that served as a coffee table.

"That's noth…" Reid tried to get it before she did but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Linda studied the pencil drawing Reid had done. "It's me," she couldn't hide the surprise in her voice.

"I…uh…did it while you were in the shower. It's not very good. It doesn't do you justice," Reid squeaked and blushed while he seemed to find the floor exceedingly interesting.

"It's beautiful," tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "You made me look so beautiful."

"You are beautiful," he looked into her eyes. "You are beautiful," he whispered. _There, he'd done it now; he'd just gone and blurted it out. Why couldn't he keep his mouth shut for once?_

Linda looked at the drawing of herself. Her hair was down around her shoulders but it was the eyes that captured her. You could see the intensity of her feelings. Was that how she looked when she gazed at him? Was it that obvious to everyone? The words of a song she loved sprang into her mind.

_If you say my eyes are beautiful_

_It's because they're looking at you_

_And if you could only see yourself_

_You'd feel the same way too_

_You could say that I am a dreamer_

_Who's had a dream come true_

_If you say my eyes are beautiful_

_It's because they're looking at you_

"I…uh…don't know what to say." She blinked back the threatening tears.

"You don't have to say anything. I thought I would have it out of the way before you saw it. I'm sorry."

"Sorry, this is the sweetest thing anyone's ever done for me, not to mention you coming here and looking after me. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Why would you be sorry," Reid's eyes narrowed.

_This could definitely send him running but she had to tell him the truth. She owed him that much. _Linda cleared her throat, "I kept you in the hospital longer than I needed to and I purposely drew out your sick leave." She looked down at her hands that were wringing themselves together. Reid said nothing. "I just told everybody who thought you should be going home that I was being extremely cautious but I really just didn't want to let you go. I was afraid to sign your return to work because I worried that something might happen to you. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you," she said tearfully. "I guess you've probably figured out that I'm crazy about you. I'm sorry."

Long fingers reached out and gently lifted her chin until she was looking into his expressive brown eyes. "You don't have to be sorry. Part of the reason I was so eager to get back to work was because I thought it would stop me from thinking about you twenty-four seven." Linda's eyes grew wide as Reid leaned forward and gently claimed her lips with his, reveling in their softness as they moved against each other. He could feel the moistness and taste the saltiness from the tears that had trickled down her cheeks. They moved closer, lips parting to allow the other access as they explored one another. Linda entwined her arms around his neck trying to fulfill her body's desire, no need, for a more intimate closeness. She moaned against Reid's lips, her ankle forgotten as his arms encircled her, pulling her nearer still.

Through the material of their clothing Reid could feel the softness of her breasts, made more so by the contrasting hardness of her nipples. He could feel his pants beginning to tighten with his own arousal when Linda's moan against his mouth brought him crashing back to reality. He let go and pulled away. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Here you are with a badly sprained ankle and I'm pawing you like some randy teenager."

"I don't mind," she said, leaning in to kiss him.

"No!" He backed away, "We have to stop!"


	16. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-------------------

Reid ran his fingers through Linda's hair as she lay on the sofa with her head on his lap. "That feels so good," she said as the long fingers caressed softly yet their touch seemed to burn through to her soul. "I don't know why you…"

"Because I don't want to hurt you. You can't want, well, you know, while you're lying there with a sprained ankle."

"Sex, it's called sex and I can so want it." She lifted her hand up to touch his face.

Reid ducked his head away. "Linda, you have to behave yourself or I'll have to go sit in one of those chairs over there." He pointed to the other side of the room. "You don't know how much effort it takes to keep my hands off you."

"Okay," she crossed her arms in front of her. "I'll be good."

"Why don't we watch some more Star Trek?" Reid suggested. "Maybe it'll keep your mind off you know what."

"You think watching Spock and company is going to keep me from wanting to jump your bones? Think again," she giggled. "You being infected with anthrax didn't curb my desire, what makes you think this will work?"

_Oh God, he wished she'd quit talking like that. She had no idea what it did to him. _"I was hoping," he said absently as his traitorous fingers left her hair and tenderly traced her eyes, nose and lips. They slowly moved to her neck and slid through the small opening at the neckline of her blouse where one open button under his dexterous hands soon became two then three. He closed his eyes and let his hand explore what lay beneath her blouse like a blind man reading Braille. He cupped her breast, his fingers moving gently over the contours of soft flesh until he reached its center which hardened and seemed to stand at attention at his touch. He felt Linda's breathing speed up and he could feel her heart pounding under his hand.

A strangled moan brought him back to reality as he felt Linda shift and her hands began pulling his shirt out of his pants as her fingers began their own exploration. Her touch was so soft, barely feathering his skin, and he wondered if it were a dream like the ones he'd had almost every night since he'd met Linda. He felt the buttons opening on his shirt as if by their own accord. Linda turned her head that still rested on his lap and brushed the skin of his lower torso with tiny soft kisses until she reached his belly button which she slowly and sensuously explored with her tongue. He moaned as his hand jerked on her breast. Suddenly they were both jolted from their amorous pursuits by the ringing of Reid's cell phone.

Reid's face turned beet red as if he was a little boy who'd been caught with his hand in the proverbial cookie jar, and what a cookie jar it was flashed through his mind as he awkwardly pulled the instrument out of his pocket and scowled at the caller ID, "R…Reid," he stammered as if the caller could somehow see what he had been doing before the phone rang.

"Hi Reid, we've got a case. You'll need your go bag."

"Oh…okay JJ, I…I'm on my way." He folded his cell and returned it to his pocket. "Uh…I've got to go. We've got a case," he told Linda.

"What kind of case?" she asked.

"JJ didn't say. The team'll get briefed together."

"Maybe you shouldn't go into the field just yet. Maybe you should do desk work for a while. I…I could talk to Agent Hotchner."

"No Linda, I have to go," he said, extricating himself gingerly from the lovely woman who a moment ago he'd…Oh well, there was no point in thinking about moments ago. The reality of the situation was that someone somewhere needed him. He began to button his shirt. "What about you?" he asked.

"What do you mean what about me?" Linda replied.

"Is there someone you can call to come and be with you?"

"I'll be fine."

"Maybe Shirley or one of your other nurses?" Reid suggested.

"Spencer, I'll be fine."

"I don't like leaving you alone. You know that the majority of injuries within the home occur from falls and burns. You've already got a sprained ankle."

"What about you?" Linda struggled to her feet with the aid of her crutches waving Reid off when he attempted to help her. "What about you?" she repeated. "Who knows what kind of danger you'll go running into in your eagerness to find some monster?" Her voice was rising with each word.

"Linda, it's part of my job. You know that," Reid retorted.

"Well, I don't have to like it."

"I could say the same thing." He opened his arms. "You go gallivanting all over the country looking for dangerous pathogens. What's to stop you from being infected by something deadly? Do you think I didn't worry about you when you went to Minnesota?"

"You did?" she sounded surprised.

"Well, I…uh…yeah."

The room was silent for what seemed like an eternity while the couple stared at one another. Linda finally looked down. "Will you promise me you'll be careful?" She stepped forward and put a hand on his chest.

"I promise to be as careful as I can. My job entails some degree of risk. I can't help that. I wear my vest."

"Yeah, well that didn't help you avoid contracting anthrax or being kidnapped by some murderous psychopath."

Reid sighed. "Linda I can't stand here and debate the dangers of our jobs. I have to call a cab so I can go get my car and get to Quantico. I'll call you tonight, okay?" Reid pushed the buttons on his cell and ordered a taxi.

While he waited for his cab Reid went to the dining room and donned his vest along with his pocket watch. Linda watched in silence and winced when he returned his glock to his belt before slipping into his jacket. A honking from outside alerted the pair to the cab's arrival. "I…uh, guess I better get going. You make sure you rest that ankle, doctor's orders," he laughed in an attempt to lighten the moment.

Linda nodded, unable to find her voice. She reached up and put her arms around his neck letting her crutches fall to the floor meanwhile pulling him down to her height. She kissed him softly at first then with increasing intensity, suddenly pulling away. "Go," she said before her tears could start.


	17. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--------------------

"Well, 'bout time you joined us kid," Morgan said as Reid hurried into the conference room, pulling his messenger bag over his head.

"Sorry I'm late, I…uh…sorry," Reid said as he plopped into his chair beside Emily. He looked up to see Garcia smirking at him and quickly looked down at the table concentrating on the file in front of him and wishing JJ would hurry up and start the briefing.

"There have been three recent bombings in Defiance, Ohio." JJ clicked the remote to show the three bombed buildings on the screen.

"Never heard of the place," Rossi interjected.

"It's a city of about 17,000, approximately fifty-five miles southwest of Toledo. It was established at the site of Fort Defiance built by General "Mad" Anthony Wayne in 1794," Reid blurted out as if reading from a history textbook. He stopped, noticing everyone around the table was staring, "Sorry."

"He hasn't done that in a while," Morgan whispered to Garcia.

"No, but he tends to revert to it when he's nervous," Garcia whispered back.

"Why would Reid be nervous?" Morgan asked but Garcia only smirked and motioned that JJ was continuing.

"The first bombing was a private residence on Summit Street," she clicked the remote and the remains of what appeared to have been a lovely home came up on the screen. "No one was in the home at the time of the explosion which sent off alarm bells. The Irvines," she clicked the remote and a family of five appeared on the screen, "were closely investigated by the police and the insurance company and both are convinced there was no involvement."

"The second bombing occurred in the Jacobson home on Perry Avenue. In this incident there was one victim," JJ clicked the remote, "Cassie Jacobson aged sixteen." The picture of a fresh faced girl with long straight ash blond hair filled the screen. "She was supposed to be staying with a friend while her parents had taken her nine year old twin brothers to Disney world. Della Jacobson said Cassie thought she was too old for an amusement park. According to Cassie's friend Jenna, Jenna's parents got into a huge fight and Cassie was uncomfortable with the situation so, instead of staying there, she went home."

"So what you're saying is she wasn't supposed to be there when the bomb exploded," Emily clarified.

"Right, again the Jacobson's were investigated by both the DPD and the insurance company but neither could find any proof that anyone in the family was involved."

"The third bombing happened last evening at an apartment complex that was still under construction, almost completed actually. Most of the apartments were already rented. This time there were two victims, technically three, I guess you could say. Ron Foley and his eleven year old son Craig," their pictures appeared on the screen, "were walking their bull terrier Lucy and were passing right by the building when it exploded. Ron, Craig and Lucy were all killed from the blast and flying debris."

"It sounds like the bomber's targets are the buildings themselves. All the incidents occurred at night when there was not likely to be a lot of people around. Both houses and the apartment complex were supposed to be empty. It was just really bad luck that those who were killed were there at the time," Reid said.

"Looks like pipe bombs," Morgan said, looking at the picture in his file. "Likely detonated by a remote detonator and that's why the bomber didn't realize there were people around or in the building in question."

"He has to be stopped or more people are likely to die. Wheels up in thirty minutes," Hotch said as he stood and strode from the room.

Reid, Morgan and Rossi grabbed their files and headed off to retrieve their go bags leaving the three women in the conference room. "Aren't those the same clothes Reid was wearing yesterday?" Emily asked, her arms crossed as she leaned against the table.

"Yeah, I noticed that too," JJ said. "Maybe he didn't get his laundry done. I barely got mine finished before I got the call." She gathered up her files and reports.

"Or," Garcia said, grinning broadly, "maybe he didn't go home last night!"

-----------------

Hotch, Reid and Morgan stood on the site of the apartment complex blast along with police chief Zeke Bowles and ATF Agent Ken Bryer. Debris littered the roped off area and smoke still hung in the air like a thick fog.

"Nothing like this has ever happened here," Chief Bowles told the profilers.

"No organizations are active in the area," Bryer added, "and we can't get a handle on why these specific targets and where the bomber will strike next."

"Pipe bombs," Morgan confirmed.

"Yeah, and homemade, no glass or nails to add extra injury, probably because the target wasn't people but the buildings themselves. Bombs were all made by the same person, high grade powder, meant to do a lot of damage but no signature that we recognize," the ATF agent responded.

"The dogs have been through the structure and we're confident there are no more explosives but we can't enter the building until we get a structural engineer here to ensure that it's safe," Bowles told them. "We have someone coming from Toledo later today."

"There's no need," Reid said as he looked closely at the building. "I'm a structural engineer. I have a doctorate from Cal Tech. Do you have the blueprints and specs?"

Bowles looked at Hotch for confirmation and the unit chief nodded. "They're over here in the van." He led Reid to the van where he produced rolls of paper for the profiler to examine.

After examining the information, Reid said, "The structure should be sound but I'll have to go in and inspect. Chief Bowles, could I get a hard hat and some steel toed boots?"

"Uh sure, the crew showed up for work this morning but there was nothing for them to do. Most of them hung around though. I'm sure they can accommodate you." He and Reid walked over to some men who stood on the periphery of the crime scene tape with other curious onlookers who'd gathered.

"Hotch," Morgan addressed the unit chief, "you're not really going to let him do this are you?"

"Morgan, it's his area of expertise. How can I say no?" Although with Reid's penchant for finding trouble, Hotch sometimes worried about him crossing the street.

Once attired in protective gear, Reid entered the complex. The others waited and watched for the young man to return as time seemed to crawl by. Eventually he could be seen coming out of the structure covered in dust and soot. Both Hotch and Morgan managed to hold in a sigh of relief. He approached the group. "The structure is fairly sound but not as sound as it should be. This builder was using substandard materials and manpower. The bombs were strategically placed in the ventilation system for maximum impact. The unsub knew what she was doing."

"She," the men said together.

"The vents couldn't hold my weight. They should be able to withstand the weight of a man much heavier than me but the materials are so weak and the workmanship's very shoddy. The unsub was able to crawl through those vents so it was a man much lighter than me and I am, by no means heavy, or it was a woman."


	18. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-------------------

The team, with the exception of Reid, was back at the precinct. Reid had gone to the hotel to shower and change after his inspection of the bomb site. Bryer and Morgan were examining the bomb fragments from each of the previous blasts. "Definitely the same person," Morgan noted.

"Yeah but the design doesn't fit any of our known bomb makers," Bryer told him. "And," he added, "none of them is a woman. Are you sure this Reid guy is right about this?"

"Well Ken, let's put it this way, he's seldom wrong. The guy's a genius and what his mind can do would astound you. If he says he thinks it's a woman, I'd give it serious consideration."

"It's just that bombs are not usually a woman's thing but okay," he said skeptically.

--------------------

Hotch, Rossi, Prentiss and JJ were in the conference room at the DPD precinct. "Garcia, try to find anything that these three buildings had in common." Hotch ordered. "I don't think it has anything to do with the people."

"_On it sir, back to you in a bit,"_ the computer tech clicked off.

"What do you think two houses in white picket fence neighborhoods and an apartment building have in common?" Rossi asked.

"I don't know," Hotch admitted, "but there's some connection in the mind of our unsub."

"What about the builder? They were fairly new houses and the apartment complex was still under construction. Maybe they had the same builder," Prentiss suggested.

JJ quickly punched the numbers for Garcia. _"This is your spiritual guide through the information superhighway, speak and be recognized."_

"Garcia, we were wondering if the same builder built all the buildings," JJ said.

"_Way ahead of you sweet girl and I thought I might be on to something. The two houses were built by Fieldstone Construction but the apartment complex was built by Fairway Construction."_

"Okay, thanks Garcia, it was a thought," JJ sounded deflated.

"What was a thought?" Reid said as he walked in the door. His dust and soot covered clothes had been replaced with grey dress pants combined with a light steel blue shirt and a grey sweater vest under a black jacket. A blue and grey striped tie completed the look. He'd combed his unruly brown hair back off his face.

"That the same company had built all three buildings," Prentiss told him.

"I'm going to get Garcia to look into this Fairway Construction Company," Reid said. "From what I saw there was no way that building would have been up to code, not even close. The guy must have the building inspector in his pocket. No wonder he had the winning bid."

"Do you think that could be part of it?" Rossi asked. "Do you think a competitor is trying to sabotage the company. A construction company would know about explosives."

Morgan peeked his head in the door. "Hotch, Bryer and I are going over to the site to see if we can get some fragments for comparison. Maybe we'll get lucky and find something we can use." Hotch nodded and the pair headed out of the precinct.

Reid pulled out his cell. "Garcia," he said after dialing, "Look up everything you can on the Fairway Construction Company. Who owns it?" He could hear her fingers tapping frantically on her keyboard, coaxing her babies to respond.

"_It's owned by Elaine Bergner of Toledo,"_ Garcia said over Reid's phone which he held out for the others to hear.

"She's a woman," JJ said.

"But would she blow up her own building?" Prentiss argued.

"Have there ever been any complaints or lawsuits against the company Garcia," Reid inquired.

More typing on the keyboard and then, _"No sweet boy, sorry. They've only been in business for about a year."_

"That's an odd way for a new business to conduct itself. Usually they establish themselves and then they start cutting corners," Hotch responded.

"Maybe they were already established," Reid pondered. "Garcia can you dig into Elaine Bergner's background?"

"_Angel face, I thought you were going to ask me something difficult."_

"Sorry Garcia, I'll try and do better next time."

"_Now that's very interesting,"_ Garcia said slowly.

"What Garcia, what's interesting?" Reid said.

"_Elaine Bergner is the maiden name of Elaine Fieldstone. She's married to Henry Fieldstone who owned Fieldstone Construction, the company that built the first two houses."_

"Garcia were there any…" Hotch began only to be interrupted by the tech.

"_There were three lawsuits against Fieldstone Construction. One by an Archibald Timber, his roof leaked due to substandard materials. Fieldstone's insurance carrier settled. The second was by a David Sparrow, his floor almost gave way due to improper support beams and joists. The insurance settled again. The third was by a Denise Chartier, oh dear…"_

"What Garcia?" five voices said at once.

"_She lost her husband and four children in a fire due to faulty wiring. She was away at a conference in Philly at the time. She got a huge settlement from Fieldstone's carrier which subsequently dropped him."_

"Garcia what do you have on her?" Rossi asked.

The team could hear the tech's fingers at work and soon she replied,_ "Before the fire she worked for the public relations firm of Morris, Thurman and Paul in Toledo. After she lost her family she quit her job and literally went off the grid. She also got a large payment from her husband's life insurance policy. She must pay cash for everything because I can't find a paper trail for her. I got bupkis."_

"Revenge," Prentiss said. "She's trying to destroy the man she sees as killing her family. She doesn't really intend to hurt anybody but him."

"I think it's more than that," Reid said. "I think she's destroying these buildings in an attempt to save the people inside. I think she doesn't want the same thing to happen to these people that happened to her family. She's always tried to strike when no one would be inside."

"She sees herself as an avenging angel or a vigilante," Rossi said.

Hotch's cell rang, "Hotchner."

"_Hotch, it's Morgan,"_ he could barely hear what the profiler said over the noise in the background.

"Morgan, what's happened?"

"_There was a bomb still in the building that hadn't detonated. I guess the dogs didn't find it. It just went off a few minutes ago."_

"Morgan, are you alright?" the unit chief asked.

"_Yeah, I'm fine, some bumps and bruises but Bryer, he's in rough shape Hotch. I'm on my way to the hospital with him now."_

Hotch closed his cell. "We can add attempted murder of a federal agent to the charges."

-----------------

Linda turned on CNN to hear, "I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in the Situation Room." After discussing the latest trend in the economy and President Obama's newest approval rating he told the viewers that the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI had been called in to assist the police in Defiance, Ohio in apprehending the perpetrator of a wave of bombings that had rocked the city of 17,000. "Suzanne Malvo has some breaking news for us on this story. What have you got for us Suzanne?"

The camera panned to a beautiful brunette. "Wolf, we've just learned that one of the federal agents in Defiance has been seriously injured when an undiscovered bomb exploded in an apartment complex. We'll update you on his condition as reports become available."

Linda's hands began to shake. Oh God no, it couldn't be him. The television screen showed an ambulance arriving at the ER in Defiance but she couldn't tell who they were bringing out. She could see another man get out of the ambulance and her breathing hitched. It was Agent Morgan. He had insisted on staying with Spencer when he was in Nichols' house. He had kept vigil by Spencer's hospital bed. If anyone would ride in the ambulance with him it would be Morgan. Was it her Spencer they were wheeling into the ER. She stood with her crutches, her shaking hands and leg barely able to hold her up and paced the room. She should go. She should go to him. Maybe she could help. She was a doctor after all. What if she couldn't help? She, of all people, knew doctors could only do so much. Tears slid down her cheeks. This was all her fault. Why had she signed his return to duty?


	19. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-------------------

"Is Morgan alright?" Emily posed the question on all their minds.

"He says he is," Hotch responded. "He sounded okay. Ken Bryer wasn't so lucky. According to Morgan he's in pretty serious condition."

"We've got to find a way to stop this woman. She can't have fallen off the face of the earth," JJ stated.

"I'll try Garcia again," Prentiss said, pulling out her cell and pushing speed dial. She informed Garcia about what had happened to the ATF agent and reassured the excited woman that Morgan was okay."

"_For somebody who's trying not to hurt people, she's not doing a very good job of it," _Garcia replied after Emily had finished.

"Garcia," Hotch interrupted, "You have to find us something, anything, that we can use to help us find this woman. She has to be staying somewhere. She needs a place to make these bombs."

"_I've checked vehicle registrations sir. There's nothing. I'll keep trying."_ Garcia ended the call and Prentiss returned her cell to the pocket of her navy blue suit jacket.

Hotch looked over at Reid and noticed the look that he got on his face when an idea was taking shape. "What are you thinking Reid?" the unit chief asked.

"I was thinking about something JJ said once. A mother would never forget. Denise Chartier is doing all this because of the pain of losing her children. She can't forget them. I would bet she visits them."

Rossi was punching buttons on the phone before Reid had finished speaking. "Garcia, can you find out where Denise Chartier's family is buried?"

"_Sure I can sir."_ They heard Garcia's fingers tapping on the keyboard. _"Peaceful Pines_ _Cemetery in Toledo,"_ came the tech's reply.

"Thanks Garcia," Rossi said as he ended the call.

"JJ, get in touch with the cemetery and find out who cares for the Chartier graves and if Denise Chartier is a regular visitor," Hotch ordered.

"Right," JJ got on the phone.

---------------------

"I'll call him, that's what I'll do," Linda said to herself. He'll answer the phone and I'll say… what, that I thought he'd been blown up. He'll really think I'm a hysterical female. Oh well, it didn't matter what he thought. She had to know. She picked up her cordless phone and punched in the number. The cell began to ring. It rang over and over, unanswered. Linda's face fell as she turned off her cordless phone. He hadn't answered. He wouldn't not answer…unless he couldn't. Linda covered her face with her hands. Something had happened to him. He'd been the man in the ambulance. The team didn't know about her. They wouldn't notify her like a wife or a girlfriend. How could she sit here when her heart was breaking and not go crazy?

-------------------

"I'm going to call Morgan," Reid said as he pulled his cell from his pocket. He pushed speed dial but nothing happened. He put the phone back in his pocket.

"I thought you were calling Morgan," Emily said.

"Uh yeah, I was but my phone is dead," Reid said rather sheepishly.

"Don't you charge it at night?" Rossi asked.

"Yeah, I guess last night I uh…forgot."

JJ hung up the phone. "I just spoke to Mike Rainford. He manages the cemetery. The graves for the Chartier family are well cared for and Denise Chartier brings fresh flowers to all five graves every Sunday."

"That's tomorrow," Prentiss remarked.

"So, we'll have to be there when she gets there," Hotch said.

"I'll call Morgan and let him know what's going on since Reid didn't charge his cell phone," Rossi said.

"Don't you charge yours at night Reid?" JJ asked.

"Yes JJ, of course I do, but last night I couldn't…couldn't find my charger."

"I thought you said you forgot about it," Emily reminded him.

"That's right, I couldn't find my charger and then I did something else and forgot about it."

"Dave and I are going to talk to Chief Bowles and inform him of the new developments," Hotch said. As they left the room the unit chief turned a rare grin on Rossi and whispered, "Why won't he just admit that he didn't go home last night?"

"Would you want to have to explain something like that to Garcia?"

-------------------

"I think you hit the nail on the head Garcia," Emily giggled into her phone. She explained about Reid's cell going dead and his differing stories of why he hadn't charged it. "I don't think he did go home last night which means he got lucky with Linda."

"_You think my sweet boy finally got laid?"_ Garcia replied.

"Well I don't think he'd stay over to play gin rummy but with Reid you never know!"

"_This is so exciting. I can't wait to tell Shirley."_

_---------------------_

The team was in place early on Sunday morning. The dew was still thick on the grass. JJ, dressed in a black pantsuit, put some flowers on a grave not far from those of the Chartier family, the five graves side by side showing the dates of birth and death. The youngest had been a mere eighteen months. JJ thought of Henry and Will. What if some contractor's greed had caused their deaths? Would she have been able to hold it together any better than this poor woman?

Reid and Prentiss sat on a bench near the water fountain that stood amidst the columbariums. Hotch was a little farther off in the military section. Rossi and Morgan stood next to some trees practically invisible amid the low boughs and the shade. All were ready to move in when their target was sighted.

About an hour had passed when a dilapidated old Ford pickup appeared on the roadway that wound its way through the cemetery. A petite blonde woman with her hair cut short emerged from the vehicle. She wore a navy fitted suit, or one that had at one time fit the woman's body, but now hung loosely on her emphasizing her weight loss. She retrieved some flowers from the passenger seat while Reid, whose cell was, this morning, fully charged, called Garcia relaying the license number of the vehicle.

"That vehicle is registered to Calvin Spicer. Just give me a moment." Garcia's digits danced over the keyboard while Reid waited. "Calvin Spicer, 89, is a resident of the Hillcrest Nursing Home in Toledo. Wife Gwen still lives in Toledo. They had one daughter, Gloria who happens to be the mother of Denise Chartier. Grandpa also owns a cabin out near Defiance Reservoir. Should I let ATF know and they can get a warrant for bomb making materials?"

"Yeah Garcia, go for it." Reid ended the call and relayed the information to the others.

As Denise Chartier neared the graves of her loved ones, the team closed in. "Freeze FBI," JJ said as she pointed her glock at the grief stricken mother.

"How did you know?" she asked calmly, almost relieved, Hotch thought.

"We figured it was someone with an axe to grind with the construction company. You were the most likely candidate," he responded.

"I didn't mean to hurt anyone, really I didn't. I just didn't want anyone else," tears began to trickle down her cheeks, "to go through this." She pointed at the five graves.

"Tell that to the Jacobsons and the Foleys," Morgan said, "or Agent Ken Bryer, a good man who lost his right leg."

"I'm sorry," she began to weep in earnest while Morgan grabbed her wrists, letting her flowers drop to the ground and cuffing them behind her back. "No prison you can put me in could be worse than the one I've been in since I lost my family. Henry Fieldstone should pay!"

"He will," Reid told her. "I examined the apartment building. I can testify to the shortcuts he took. He'll never build another building."

She nodded as Morgan led her away. JJ bent and picked up the flowers Denise Chartier had dropped and gently laid some on each of the five graves.

--------------------

The doorbell roused her from sleep. How had she slept? She'd fallen into a fitful sleep when no more tears would come and she'd made a good dent in a bottle of single malt. She struggled to her feet trying not to sprain her other ankle. The bell sounded again. Why wouldn't the person just go away? She would tell them as much she thought as she opened the door.

She had died. She was sure of it and she was now standing at the gates of heaven and he was waiting for her. No, it was more likely a dream from all the liquor she'd drunk. That was the answer, maybe she was just drunk because she could swear Spencer was standing in her doorway. "Spencer," she said and Reid noted the confusion on her face.

"Linda," he said, equally concerned. He reached out to touch her face as her eyelids fluttered. He caught her just before she hit the floor.


	20. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--------------------

Reid carried the unconscious woman to the sofa. He noticed the ottoman laden with scrunched up tissues along with a bottle of scotch and a glass. "What the…" he said as he set Linda down.

"Linda," he called out to the woman, tapping her face gently with his hand. "Linda," he said again, "talk to me." Linda opened her eyes and again he noted the confusion. "Linda, what's wrong?"

"It's you," she said as she sat up. "Is it really you?" She reached her hands up and cupped his face, then she ran her fingers through his hair.

"Of course it's me. Linda what's wrong?"

"I thought you were badly wounded or…or dead," she said as she continued to touch him, willing herself to believe he was real.

"W…Why would you think that?"

Linda relayed what she had heard on the news broadcast. "I saw Morgan get out of the ambulance and I remembered how he'd stayed with you at the house and at the hospital so I was sure it was you who was hurt. I tried calling but your phone just rang and rang which made me even more sure I was right."

"I'm sorry, my battery was dead. I usually charge it at night but Friday night I was uh…here. It was an ATF agent named Ken Bryer that was hurt when a bomb they didn't know was there detonated. He lost his right leg. Morgan was with him at the time but he only sustained some bumps and bruises, that's why he was in the ambulance. Speaking of legs, how's your ankle?"

"I guess it's okay. I uh…well you can see what I did." She hung her head. "I guess that dulled the pain somewhat. I couldn't think about my ankle. All I could think about was you." She reached up to touch his face again then leaned up planting her lips on his.

Reid responded immediately, pulling her close, his lips parting with hers as the kiss deepened. He could hear her moan of pleasure as their tongues danced. Hands began to move over each other as first his jacket and tie, then his vest followed by her blouse and finally his shirt hit the floor. Lips, tongues and teeth joined their hands in the exploration of each other's bodies, like a savage hunger that could not be quelled. His lips teased her breast while her fingernails raked over his back. He felt his belt unbuckle and his glock flew over the back of the couch while Linda feverishly fumbled with the zipper on his pants. She pulled them down, freeing the throbbing bulge within. Her hands slid into his boxers gently stroking his manhood eliciting moans of ecstasy from him as his breathing quickened. He ripped at her jeans, his need to be one with her almost unbearable.

When they could stand it no longer they joined as one, their lovemaking gentle at first became more heated and frantic as their passions surged with each caress, stroke and thrust of their bodies until their fervor erupted like a volcano, the heat flowing through their bodies like hot molten lava until, at last, they were spent.

Linda and Spencer lay in Linda's bed wrapped in each other's arms. The day had given way to twilight and eventually night. In the aftermath of their energetic lovemaking, the lover's bodies glistened with perspiration in the moonlight that filtered into the room.

"You're definitely not dead and neither is your battery," Linda mumbled as her hands slid over his chest.

"I've never felt more alive!"

"Me either."

"How's your ankle? I didn't hurt you did I?" Reid said with concern.

"What ankle?" Linda laughed.

He kissed the top of her still wet hair, "I'll take that as a no."

----------------

"Anyway, I saw his car in the parking lot at the Japanese restaurant on Saturday morning so they must have gone back to Kimura's in her car. Then he came to work yesterday in the same clothes he'd worn on Friday." Garcia began to giggle. "To top it all off, Emily told me that his cell wasn't charged, the battery died and his story kept changing as to why he hadn't charged it. Emily said he was getting really flustered," she told Shirley on Sunday evening.

"_That's great, I knew she had the hots for him. Well who could blame her? They're both such great people they deserve each other. So, that was Friday night, let's see,"_ she ran her fingers over the grid. _"Beth won the pool. We'll have to get together. Maybe she'll buy a round with her winnings."_

"That's the least she could do. We did help her win it. Let me know if Dr. Kimura mentions the date," Garcia told her. "Lord knows Reid won't give us any details."

"_I will, thanks for the update."_

-------------------------

"It's a good thing you already had some Alfredo sauce made up," Reid said as he popped the chicken fettuccini Alfredo in the oven. "Little Japanese girl cooks Italian, who knew?"

Linda threw the remainder of a stalk of celery she was chopping for the salad at him from her perch at the dining room table. "I'll have you know I'm an excellent cook."

"Yeah yeah, well I seem to be doing all the cooking in this relationship," he said as he dodged a radish.

"That's not what you thought an hour ago," she winked.

"I'm pretty sure that's not good manners," he picked up the radish. "I'd eat just about anything right now anyway, even my own cooking. I'm starved. Someone seems to have worn me out," he sighed.

"Oh you poor thing," Linda said with mock sympathy. "Just wait until this ankle is healed and I'll do something guaranteed to satisfy your hunger."

"You already did that," he said waggling his eyebrows as he leaned against the kitchen counter with his arms crossed. A mushroom whizzed by him and landed in the sink. "You really have to work on curbing this violent streak of yours. Is any of that salad getting into the bowl because I want to eat it?"

Linda tossed the vegetables together with wooden salad forks, "Let's eat."

-----------------

Linda winced as she sat down on the couch after enjoying the fettuccini with garlic bread and a glass of chardonnay. "You're in pain aren't you?" Reid said, noticing her grimace.

"Just a little," she held up her thumb and index finger close together.

"Here," Reid handed her the Tylenol, "I'll get you some water." He turned for the kitchen returning momentarily with the water. He watched her down the medication and returned the empty glass to the kitchen. "I'm sorry," he said upon his return. "I should have been more careful. I should have had more control and not let what happened happen. I knew you were injured. It's my fault."

"If I recall correctly, it was me who all but jumped you," Linda admitted. "It's okay, the meds will kick in shortly."

"Is there anything I can do? Should I get ice? Would it help if I massaged it or something?" He recalled the massage he'd had in the hospital. It had been wonderful until he'd…

"A massage," Linda sighed. "I haven't had one in like forever. I used to go to the day spa all the time but now I never seem to find the time." She rolled on her stomach. "There's lotion in the bathroom."

Reid retrieved the lotion and slathered it on his hands before placing them on Linda's back. She'd undone the silk kimono she'd worn and dropped it to her waist. He began to rub his hands over her back, gently kneading the tissue. "Tell me if I hurt you." Her back was so beautiful, the skin so soft.

_Hurt her! _My God, she thought, as those magic fingers on her skin made her tingle like she never had before. She closed her eyes. "Hmm," she mumbled at his caresses. She could feel the movement of each finger like he was a master musician playing a symphony.

His hands moved from her shoulders, down her back, caressing and kneading the tissues as he went, to where her kimono rested at her waist. He closed his eyes and let his fingers work, not realizing he had brushed the kimono aside and his hands now caressed her soft round buttocks.

Linda moaned his name and turned, reaching out for him, like he had done that night in the hospital, the kimono slipping away altogether, revealing her nakedness. "Linda, we can't," he said with all the strength he could muster. "I don't want to hurt you. I hurt you before even though you said I didn't."

"Please Spencer, haven't you ever done something you wanted and even though you knew it was going to hurt you in the end, you did it anyway because it felt so damn good at the time?"


	21. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-------------------------

Linda regretted the words the moment they'd left her lips. Reid stepped back like he had been slapped. "Spencer, I didn't mean anything by…"

"Of…of course I've done things I knew would hurt me, I'm a drug addict, remember."

"Spencer, I didn't mean…" Linda pulled her kimono around her. How had such a sensual moment suddenly gone so bad? "I was talking about, you know, in college when you have bar night and you drink way too much. You know better. You know you're going to pay for it the next day in class but it's so much fun you do it anyway."

"No Linda, I don't know anything about that. I was completing my third doctorate before I even became legal. I was a skinny geeky nerd with glasses and I never got invited to bar night."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's nobody's fault. No one at Cal Tech wanted to hang out with a thirteen year old kid. The only time girls ever paid any attention to me was when they wanted help with papers or something. It was a lonely life. There were no bar nights."

"Spencer I didn't mean to…"

"So after Georgia, I turned to Dilaudid to take me away from my pitiful life. It was wrong then. It's the same with what happened here. I shouldn't have taken advantage of you. You'd obviously been upset and I should have realized that, but no, I let my desire for you overtake my judgment. It was wrong then and it's wrong now. Now, because of my selfishness, you're in pain. I'm not going to add to it."

"Don't you dare blame yourself," she tried to stand but failed miserably without her crutches. "I wanted you as much as you wanted me, maybe more. I knew our lovemaking would probably cause me pain but I wanted to be with you more than I wanted to avoid the pain."

Her appeal seemed to fall on deaf ears as he backed up still further and turned away. "I should go," he said sitting on one of the chairs near the bay window to put on his socks and shoes. He gathered his vest, jacket and glock. "You need to rest. I'll…uh…see you." With his head down he headed for the door while Linda, finally standing on her crutches, tried to catch up to him.

"Spencer, please wait."

He turned the knob on the door. "Let's call it a night. Anyway, I need to charge my cell phone." He was out the door and had closed it softly behind him by the time Linda reached the door.

"Damn it!" she said as she pounded on the door with her fist. "Why couldn't you have kept your mouth shut?" She turned and headed back to the living room, grabbing her cordless phone off the ottoman. She hit speed dial and waited for the call to be answered. "Connie, oh good, I need you to do something for me."

-------------------

Reid slammed the door of his apartment, throwing his go bag and messenger bag on the floor just inside the door. "Damn it," why had he let her words get to him? He'd probably scared her away for good. He removed his glock and set his cell on the kitchen counter to charge, heading for the bathroom and a quick shower. He came out of the bathroom his wet hair slicked back. He now wore a tee shirt and plaid sleep pants. He didn't think he'd get much sleep if he went to bed. He surveyed the bookcase and eyed the television trying to decide which would take his mind off the disaster he'd made of things with Linda when the buzzer roused him from his musings. He glanced at the clock on the wall, 11:18, who came calling at this hour? "Yeah," he said into the box, unaware of the annoyance in his voice.

"Spencer," her soft tones came through the speaker.

Linda! What was she doing here? "Linda," he said into the microphone.

"In the flesh," the voice in the speaker said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"No offense Spencer, but since I'm standing in the vestibule of your apartment complex ringing your buzzer, it doesn't take a genius to figure out I came to talk to you."

"How did you know where I live?"

"I got it from your file at the hospital. Spencer, you have a woman on crutches who just let her cab go standing down here. Are you going to let me in or should I push one of your neighbors' buzzers?" She looked at the other names. "Perhaps Mrs. Greeley?"

Oh God, Reid thought, not Mrs. Greeley. She was the biggest busybody in the whole building. He couldn't leave her standing down there on crutches. He pushed the button.

Reid was standing at the elevator when it opened. Linda stood there leaning on her crutches thinking he looked so damn good in just a tee shirt and sleep pants. She gave her head a shake and told herself not to think about that now although it took all her willpower. In place of her kimono she now wore olive green cargo pants with a matching tank featuring embroidered leaves around the vee neck. She'd slipped her feet into a pair of flat brown Mary Janes.

"Are you okay?" he couldn't hide the concern in his voice.

"I'm fine," she said, finally stepping out of the car. They walked down the hallway towards Reid's apartment and as she stepped through the door she surveyed his home. The door opened between the dining area on the left which consisted of a small round oak table topped with smoked glass and four oak chairs upholstered in cream tweed combined with an oak hutch against the nearest wall and the kitchen on her right. It was galley style with a centre island. The oak cabinetry was complemented by beige and grey speckled countertops. The appliances were stainless steel.

Further to the left was the living area. A cream colored sectional sat on the hardwood floors. In front of it on a cream and brown checked area rug sat a square glass coffee table with intricately carved oak legs. A matching end table sat beside the sectional next to the wall. A large plasma screen TV sat kitty corner opposite the sofa. The wall to the right of the television held a large bookcase that was full to overflowing and the wall to the left featured a beautiful window that would allow the morning sun to stream in during the day but now was covered with wood blinds that added style to the room. Under the window was an oak entertainment centre with a CD player and, from what Linda could see through the smoky glass, a large collection of CDs and DVDs. A couple of pictures graced the top of the entertainment centre. One was a picture of the team, the other a thin middle aged blonde woman.

"I love it," she told him as she entered and headed for the couch. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here," she said as she sat on the sectional and laid her crutches on the floor.

"Look, if this is about before, I…" Reid began.

"Spencer, I never meant to hurt or demean you in any way. I'm sorry, I should have chosen my words more carefully," she said before Reid got a chance to finish what he'd been about to say.

"No," he insisted, "you shouldn't have to choose your words carefully or censor your conversations. What kind of a relationship do we have if we can't talk openly. I don't want to be with you just for sex, although it was pretty great, and I don't want you to have to worry that I'll take offense at everything you say."

"So you forgive me?" she asked.

"There's nothing to forgive, I overreacted. It's something I'll have to bring up at my next meeting. Maybe the group can suggest a better way for me to deal with those kinds of things."

"I'm sorry, I mean I knew about the Dilaudid but I never stopped to think that your entire life has never been exactly normal," she made quotation marks with her fingers, "my bad."

"Linda, it's not your fault, I…"

"Hey," Linda broke in. "Are we going to sit here and debate this or are you going to offer a girl some coffee or hot chocolate?"

"Oh, uh…sure," he got up and headed for the kitchen. "You should move to the middle so you can put your foot up."

Linda moved as she was told, "Got any of those Star Trek DVDs?" she asked.

"Yeah, there're some in the entertainment centre," he replied as he returned with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. "I haven't had this in forever," he said as he handed her a cup.

"Hand me the DVDs and I'll pick out an episode while you pop some popcorn."

Reid handed her the DVD set and again went to the kitchen, this time to return with a steaming bowl of popcorn. He put the DVD she handed him in the machine and selected the requested episode. He sat beside her on the couch.

----------------------

The clock on the stove said 3:19 am. The TV screen shone a bright blue light into Reid's living room, the Star Trek episode long over. Two empty cups and an empty bowl sat on the coffee table. Linda slept with her head on Reid's shoulder. His arms encompassed her as his cheek rested on her head, his deep and steady breathing making wisps of her hair stand up. Morning would find them with stiff necks and limbs but rejoicing in possibly the best night's sleep either of them had experienced in a very long time.


	22. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--------------------

Reid set his bags inside the door and pulled out his cell again. Again the call went straight to voice mail. Why wasn't she picking up if she knew it was him? She'd made it clear she worried about him. He closed the phone, there was no point in leaving another message, she hadn't responded to any that he'd left so far. He paced the room for a few minutes, "Shirley Payne," he said out loud. He'd always thought that was a funny name for a nurse but she was Linda's head nurse; if anyone would know what was going on it was her. He punched in the number he'd seen once when he'd glanced at Linda's desk.

"Hello," the harried voice said.

Great, he thought, what did he say now that didn't have him sounding like a possessive overreacting boyfriend. "Uh…hi Shirley, it's Spencer Reid. I've been trying to reach L…Dr. Kimura and her cell keeps going to voice mail. I tried calling her office and the secretary told me she's out of town on a case but she couldn't tell me where. I was wondering if you knew how I might get in touch with her?"

"I'm sorry Dr. Reid, Dr. Kimura doesn't have her cell with her at present and isn't able to call you at the moment."

"Oh, I see. Where is she anyway?" he asked in what he thought was an innocent tone.

"I'm sorry Dr. Reid; I'm not at liberty to say. There's been a media blackout. You know how that is."

"Yeah, it's not anthrax again is it?"

"Really Dr. Reid," Shirley reiterated starting to sound impatient with his questions. "I'm not at liberty to say."

"Okay, I understand. Thanks Shirley." He was quiet for a moment and then added, "Do you think you could ask her to call me when she can?"

"Of course Dr. Reid, I'll tell her. I'm sure she'll call you back as soon as she can." Shirley ended the call and closed her phone saying, "Don't hold your breath Dr. Reid." She turned to Sandy who'd overheard her side of the conversation. She noted the concern on her friend's face.

"I'm glad he called you instead of me," Sandy declared. "I don't know if I could have lied to him like that."

----------------------

Something didn't seem right. He knew media blackouts were common to prevent panic and mass exodus. He understood this. He also understood that it must be something substantial to prompt a media blackout. That didn't mean Linda couldn't speak to him on the phone. She didn't have to discuss the details of her case any more than he did when he was away. So why was she so impossible to reach. He opened his cell again and hit speed dial.

"I was almost out the door, this better be good," Garcia said in answer to Reid's call.

"Hi Garcia, sorry, I just wondered if you could do something for me? Please!"

"For you sweet cheeks, anything, what do you need?" She sat in her chair and fired up her computers once again.

"I need you to track down the location of a cell phone for me." He reeled off the number.

"Okay, just a minute, I'm triangulating." He could hear Garcia's fingers on the keys. "Rockwell, Iowa, that's where that cell phone is," she told him. "Reid," Garcia said curiously, "why are you tracking down Shirley Payne's cell phone."

"Would you believe that at the moment Garcia, I'm not sure but thanks for looking it up for me."

----------------------

"Rockwell, Iowa," Reid said as he stared at the information on the computer monitor. With a population of roughly 990 people, it didn't look like it would be the site of some major outbreak. From what he could gather it was primarily an agricultural community although it did manufacture pipe organs and microwave popcorn. There was nothing in the local newspaper, The Calhoun County Advocate, to suggest any disease had hit the town but then Shirley had stressed there was a media blackout. However, JJ was always alluding to the fact that everybody in a small town seemed to know something about everything so keeping something major quiet wouldn't be an easy task, especially knowing the way small town folk talked. There was no news on unexplained admissions to Stewart Memorial Community Hospital.

There didn't seem to be anything that would be a big case for the CDC. He thought for a moment. But what if that wasn't it? What if there was no big case? What if Linda was deliberately not answering his calls? Maybe she was trying to dump him and by not responding to him she hoped he'd get the message. He wasn't sure. He'd never been dumped before. He'd never been in a position to be dumped before.

-----------------------

General Mattingly strode briskly down the hallway of Walter Reed Army Medical Centre after hearing the life flight helicopter arrive. "How is she?" he asked Shirley Payne.

"Physically she seems okay but then there wouldn't be any signs yet would there sir? She was upset having to relinquish the case to the team from Atlanta but she's a team player," Shirley replied.

Mitch Mattingly stood in the ante room and looked through the glass at the woman lying on the bed. This was an examination he never thought he'd have to make. He started to don isolation gear. "I guess we might as well get started."

Linda Kimura had been staring straight ahead, lost in her thoughts, when General Mattingly and Shirley entered the room although all she could see of them was their eyes. The general's were kind as always but now tempered with concern. She thought she sensed his brow furrow beneath the cap that covered his hair and most of his forehead. "How are you my dear?"

"Oh, never better," Linda said sarcastically but the general and the nurse could see the fear in her eyes.

"Your vitals are good," the doctor said as he took a stethoscope off the hook and listened to her chest. "Are you in any pain?"

"No sir, really, I feel fine. Have we heard anything from Rockwell?"

"Linda, I want you to forget about Rockwell and concentrate on yourself. That's an order," he said sternly before reaching a gloved hand out to squeeze hers. He nodded at Shirley as he turned to leave the room.

Linda looked at Shirley, the question in her eyes. Shirley sighed, "Two more students dead." Shirley shifted her weight back and forth on both her feet.

"What is it Shirley?" Linda eventually asked.

"Dr. Reid keeps calling. He's left tons of messages on your voice mail. He wants to talk to you. I told him you didn't have your cell phone with you which I guess is technically the truth. He asked me to ask you to call him. Now that you're back here I could…"

"No," Linda interjected. "I don't want him to know."

"Why, are you afraid he won't stand by you?"

"No, it's that I know that is exactly what he will do and I don't want him anywhere near me. He's been through enough…more than enough. That's why he can't know that I've been in contact with Ebola!"


	23. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

----------------

"Reid," he said into his cell phone.

"Hi baby cakes, can you come to my office for a moment?"

"Yeah, I'll be right there Garcia." Reid closed his cell and headed in search of the computer tech. He entered her office after knocking twice. "What did you want to see me about Garcia?"

"Okay, I don't know why you were tracing Shirley Payne's cell but when I left last night I must have left the computer on search. Anyway I just thought I'd let you know that Shirley's not in Kansas anymore. She's clicked her heels and she's now back in DC."

"They're back," Reid looked dejected. "O…okay, thanks Garcia," he turned and left the room. He pulled his cell from his pocket and hit speed dial; again the voice mail. "Aargh!" he groaned as he closed his phone. Oh well, he couldn't worry about the implications of that now, JJ had left him a desk full of files to work on.

-----------------

"I talked to your parents. I told them everything looked good so far. I told them I'd let them know if I thought they needed to come, considering your father's difficulty getting around," General Mattingly told Linda as he checked her over. "Day two and no signs of anything yet, that's good."

"Yeah, you try being stuck in here for three weeks and see how you like it," she retorted snidely.

"It appears I've hit a nerve." He laughed softly. "That's my girl, is there anything I can get for you?" he asked.

Linda was silent for a while. The one thing she wanted she couldn't have, she wouldn't allow herself to have. She wanted his arms around her. She wanted him to tell her everything would be okay but she couldn't risk it. She clicked the remote on the TV, "No, I'm fine."

-----------------------

Reid got off the elevator and headed for Linda's office. They'd have this out once and for all. If she didn't want to see him anymore, she could tell him to his face. He could handle rejection. He'd suffered through enough of it in his life. He was glad there was a meeting tonight. If Linda gave him the heave ho, he'd have somewhere to go. He was about to knock on the door when a voice said, "She's not there."

He turned to see Madeline, Linda's secretary, standing there. "I know she's back," he said.

"She's not in her office. She hasn't been all day."

This was getting old fast. "I don't suppose you know where I might find her?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm not…"

"At liberty to say," Reid finished along with Madeline who suddenly found the boring tile floor of interest.

"You and Shirley have that line down pat," he remarked sarcastically. He turned and strode away missing the sympathetic look on Madeline's face.

He was standing at the elevator when he saw Shirley come bustling to the nurses' station. "It's only day two. Dr. Kimura's going to go crazy in there for three weeks," she informed Sandy and Beth.

"Let's all just pray she's still here in three weeks, stir crazy or not," Sandy replied.

Reid couldn't believe what his ears were hearing. Something was wrong with Linda. He quickly approached the desk. "What's wrong with her," he asked Shirley, moving around the desk so he faced the woman, "and do not give me the 'you're not at liberty to say' response. What's wrong with Linda?"

"I'm not…I can't tell you anything. You're not next of kin," Shirley said.

"Next of kin," Reid squeaked. "How bad off is she if you're worried about next of kin?"

"Look Dr. Reid, we'd tell you if we could but we can't. That's just the way it is," Sandy tried to calm the irate man.

"Alright," he put up his hands. "I know you have rules, I'm sorry. Could I see her at least?"

"N…no," Shirley responded.

"She's not allowed visitors?" He saw the nurses look back and forth between one another. "What?" he said.

"It's not that she's not allowed visitors," Sandy began. "It's just that…"

"She doesn't want to see you," Shirley finished and, like Madeline, looked at the floor.

"Oh," he was quiet for a long while, his face turning red and he found it was his turn to examine the floor. "Uh…I see." He tried unsuccessfully to laugh. "You would think I'd have gotten the message when she didn't answer my messages. For a genius I'm not too bright, huh? I'm sorry for bothering you." He turned to go.

The nurses exchanged furtive glances once again and finally Sandy called out, running after him, "Dr. Reid, it's not what you think."

Reid turned, "What is it then?" he asked, the exasperation evident on his face.

"She said she doesn't want to see you," Shirley stepped forward. "But it's not that she doesn't want to, it's that she's trying to protect you from what she might have been exposed to. She says you've been through enough. I think she wants to see you more than anything but she won't allow herself because she cares so much."

"It's my life. Why does she get to decide?"

"She gets to decide because she's the one in the hospital room and it's her choice of who she sees," Sandy explained.

"So who has she decided to see? Is her family with her?"

"No, her father has MS and it takes all her mother's time to care for him. If her condition deteriorates they'll make the trip," Beth spoke for the first time.

Reid seemed lost in thought for a moment. "So she's going through this all alone," he clarified in disbelief.

She has us and General Mattingly," Sandy stressed.

Reid nodded. "It's not the same, believe me. My team is like my family but when it's Christmas and Thanksgiving, they're with their real families. You go home at night to your families and she's alone. I know what that's like."

Shirley raised her head in determination. "Come with me," she said as she headed down the hallway. "I can't take you in to see her," she added as she entered the ante room. She donned her isolation gear and went into Linda's room. Reid stood in the small room staring at the glass wall covered with dull hospital curtains that separated him from Linda. After a few minutes the curtains were drawn back so he could see into the room. Linda, who appeared even smaller somehow, was dressed in a hospital gown, a hospital robe over that. Her feet were covered with a pair of slippers. She stared through the glass at him while Shirley retreated into the background.

Reid tried to smile reassuringly at her as he raised his hand in a little wave. She looked into brown eyes that told everything and saw the sadness and fear in them. It killed her that she was the one making him feel that way. He could see her bottom lip tremble as her eyes filled with tears. She took two steps forward and put her hand on the glass. Reid raised his hand next to hers, only the thick pane of glass separating two hands and two hearts.


	24. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

------------------

On her seventh day of what she'd come to consider her captivity, Linda sat on her bed surveying her room. She'd remained adamant about not allowing Spencer into her room but he'd come in anyway, if not in body, in soul. He was everywhere she looked. He'd stood in the ante room and performed magic tricks with cards and coins that had mesmerized her. On her night table sat a top hat with a stuffed rabbit sticking out of it. The next night he'd drawn caricatures of his team and her nurses that made her laugh and now hung on the wall. The next evening he'd arrived with a beautiful copper colored candle, followed by a copper bowl filled with glorious smelling incense. The last time she'd seen him he brought an ikebana of five gorgeous white orchids arranged in a shiny brown bowl according to size and accented with tall white birch twigs. His note said he'd found a woman in DC who helped him make the gift. Her grandmother would have spotted the flaws in it of course, but to her it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was like he'd given her her own tokonoma.

He wouldn't be here tonight. Sandy had told her he'd called. The team had a case involving a series of rapes and a murder in Indianapolis. She supposed she shouldn't be selfish. The women of Indianapolis needed his brilliant mind to find the killer before another woman became his victim. She reached out and fingered the fluffy pink rabbit that was perched lopsidedly in the top hat. She'd known he was special when they first met and worked together on the anthrax case. She couldn't help but notice how attractive he was but she'd tried to remain professional. It had become harder to maintain her professional distance after he'd become infected with the virus. She mustn't have done a very good job of it if both her team and his had seen the attraction. She'd dated quite regularly in her life, known other men, had other lovers but the sparks never flew like they did with him. No man had touched her inner core like this man. No other man ever would. She loved him. She knew that now. With every fiber of her being she loved him. Even though he couldn't be here with her, she leaned in to smell the fragrance of the lilies mixed with that of the incense, he hadn't left her alone. He'd left pieces of himself with her. She'd get by.

----------------------

"We're dealing with what's known as a power reassurance rapist," Hotch told members of the Indianapolis PD.

"These men rarely kill their victims. They rarely let their victims see their faces," Prentiss continued. "The fact that this man did kill one of his victims tells us she either saw his face or threatened him in some way."

"We're looking for an Asian man in his late twenties to thirties who works in a menial job, possibly for an Asian woman who makes him, by her actions or simply by virtue of her being superior to him and rivaling traditional Asian culture, feel emasculated. The rapes give him the power he lacks in his everyday life," Reid said.

"How do we know he's Asian?" A stout and balding African American officer asked.

"Because rapists rarely stray outside of their own race and all the women who have been attacked are Asian American women in high level positions," Reid replied.

"This man is not going to be your handsome three piece suit, working out at the gym kind of guy," Morgan stressed. "He lacks the confidence, he won't stick out. People who know him will be surprised to hear this man is capable of such a crime."

"How do we catch the guy if he's so ordinary and nonspecific?" another of the officers asked.

"Victimology," Rossi replied. "He's somewhere in the periphery of each of these women's lives. He could be the guy who delivers Chinese food to the offices where they work. We have to figure out where he fits in."

The pictures of four beautiful Asian American women graced the white board. All had been raped but only the last, Deborah Lee, had been killed. Reid looked at the pictures and the women reminded him of Linda. They were all professional women in the city. HaeJung Kim, a Korean American was a financial advisor at Gruber Management one of the largest firms in Indianapolis. Jiao Chang was a professor of Chinese studies at Indiana State. Sharon Saito, a second generation Japanese immigrant owned her own interior design firm and, the murder victim, Deborah Lee, the other woman of Chinese descent had been a surgeon at St. Vincent Carmel Hospital.

"JJ, you and Morgan talk to Miss Kim, find out all the places she frequents and people she's dealt with," Hotch ordered. "Reid and Prentiss, head over to the university and interview Miss Chang. Rossi and I will talk to Sharon Saito and then we'll have to question family, friends and coworkers of Miss Lee to get her story." Each pair of agents headed out to conduct their interviews.

-------------------------

Linda Kimura slept. She never napped in the afternoon but there wasn't enough to do in her glass cage. She was roused by the overhead paging system, "Code blue to room 427." It was funny she thought, when she was working she rarely noticed the various pages that went on throughout the day unless they were for her. One always seemed to recognize one's own name. She sat up and looked at the clock, 2:40. She'd go to the bathroom and then do some reading. She felt it with her hand before she saw it. Her sheets were wet. She didn't want to turn her head and look. She didn't want to see what she knew would be there. She looked anyway and although she had expected it, the bright redness of the sheets shocked her and Linda gasped. Seven days into the incubation period she had felt confident she was okay, that her possible brief contact with the Ebola virus due to a faulty latex glove would amount to nothing. But now she was bleeding. She could see dried blood streaks down her legs. Her fingers went to her forehead. It didn't feel hot. It should feel hot if she'd developed the hemorrhagic fever that signified Ebola shouldn't it? She could feel perspiration on her brow and her anxiety spiked while her hope plummeted.

--------------------

The team was back in the conference room comparing notes. The victims didn't seem to frequent many of the same places with the exception of the large department stores where the majority of Indianapolis residents shopped. "Sharon Saito said she shopped a lot at an Asian market down on Field Street." Rossi flipped through the pages of his notebook, looking for the name. "She said it stocked the best Poneu in the city, whatever that is."

"It's a dipping and dressing sauce used in Japanese cuisine," Reid interjected. "It's good with vegetables, fried foods, noodles and dumplings."

"Well thank you Mr. Expert on Japanese cooking," Morgan teased. "I don't suppose she's taught you how to use chopsticks."

"Are you talking about The Oriental Pantry?" JJ asked. "HaeJung Kim shops there as well. She says most regular supermarkets don't carry good doenjang, that's some kind of fermented soy bean paste and she can easily find other staples needed in authentic Korean cooking."

"Jiao Chang said something about that too," Prentiss added. "Remember Reid, she said you can get Szechuan and hoisin almost anywhere but not with the same quality as at The Oriental Pantry."

"Perhaps we need to pay a visit to The Oriental Pantry," Hotch said.


	25. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

----------------------

"The Oriental Pantry," Garcia told them, "was recently bought by a woman named Lily Lim. She's the owner/manager of a Chinese restaurant called The Fortune Cookie. The former proprietor of The Oriental Pantry, Johnny Fung, 58, died in a car accident a few months ago and the pantry fell on hard times in the hands of his wife and son. The bank was about to foreclose when Lim swooped in and bought the business for a song. According to bank records, Mrs. Fung and her son still work there."

"How old is the son Garcia?" Morgan asked.

"Joey Fung is twenty-nine. There's no record of any criminal activity."

"Let's talk to Lily Lim," Hotch suggested. "Have you got an address on her Garcia?"

"Have I ever let you down sir," the tech said before she gave him the address.

"No Garcia, you never have." He turned to the team. "Rossi, Prentiss, go talk to this woman and find out what you can about the Fungs especially Joey. His father's death and Lim taking over the family business may have been the stressor. Then we'll pay the Fungs a visit."

"Right Hotch," Prentiss said as they left the room.

"You think this could be our guy?" Morgan asked.

"He seems to fit the profile," Reid said.

"JJ," Hotch spoke again. "Contact Garcia and see if she can track down any purchases by Deborah Lee at The Oriental Pantry."

-----------------------

Shirley stared at the scarlet bedding and the terrified look in Linda Kimura's eyes. "Now Dr. Kimura, perhaps it's just your cycle. Did you think of that?"

"Of course I thought of that Shirley, I'm a doctor after all, but it's way too early." She turned to the bathroom. "I have to shower."

When she emerged from the shower there was no sign of the bloody sheets. Beth had joined Shirley. "Dr. Kimura," she said, "we need to do your vital signs." She wrapped the blood pressure cuff around Linda's arm and while the machine pumped up she ran the thermometer across her patient's forehead and behind her ear. "99.2º" she stated. "BP-136/77, pulse-102, sats-98%. The temp is up a little doctor but it could just be from the shower. We'll keep an eye on it. We've alerted General Mattingly. He'll be here shortly."

"Is there anything we can get for you Dr. Kimura?" Shirley asked.

Linda looked back at the two women, her eyes had never looked so lost, Shirley thought. They couldn't get her what she needed most. "No," Linda said quietly, "nothing." She went back to the bed as Shirley and Beth left the room for the ante room disposing of their isolation garb. Linda sat on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chest and rested her head on her knees. She reached her hand out and plucked the stuffed rabbit from the top hat. That's what she needed right now, she thought as she hugged the stuffed animal close to her body, a little magic.

-----------------------------

"Can you tell us what you know about the Fungs?" Rossi asked Lily Lim as they sat in her office at The Fortune Cookie.

"I'd always had good dealings with Johnny Fung. I bought some ingredients from him both for the restaurant and home. They were good quality at a fair price," the beautiful Chinese woman said. She swiveled in the chair behind her desk. She wore a red suit and her black hair was braided and piled on top of her head.

"What about Mrs. Fung and Joey?" Prentiss asked.

"I didn't see a lot of Mae Fung. She worked in the back, processing orders, taking care of stock and that kind of thing. She could do that because she dealt with their dealers in Chinese. Mae is from the old school Chinese. She observes the traditional hierarchy. I believe it was an arranged marriage. She deferred to her husband, always walked two steps behind him, never learned English."

"And Joey?" Emily pressed.

"I don't really know a lot about Joey. I hardly noticed he was there unless Johnny told him to get something from the back room. I can understand why he would have a hard time running the place once his father died and Mae could never do it. It was a good business decision for me. I've got a man running it and Mae and Joey continue in their former positions."

-------------------

General Mattingly finished his examination. "Your temp is hardly elevated. You're not experiencing headache, joint and muscle aches or a sore throat?" Linda shook her head. "No diarrhea, vomiting or stomach pain?" Linda shook her head again. "Your eyes are clear, no redness and you have no evidence of a rash. These are all good signs." He patted her on the back. "I'll do blood cultures to make sure, okay?" He bent down to look her in the eye. "Chin up my dear, I'm not about to lose one of my best doctors."

A small smirk came to Linda's face, "Thank you General," she said.

General Mattingly and Shirley left the room. "Well, I think you cheered her up a little sir," the nurse said.

"Perhaps," he agreed, "but I'm not a tall, handsome, artistic profiler," he pointed out. "I hope he's back soon."

---------------------

Rossi and Prentiss had returned to report on their discussion with Lily Lim. "So," Morgan began, "Joey's father dies but he's not doing a good job of running the business even though it's got an established clientele."

"Then," Reid continued, "Lily Lim comes into the picture and buys the business his father had spent a lifetime building just before the bank forecloses. Now this woman is his boss."

"And in the house he was raised in, he's not used to taking orders from a woman. The woman didn't make any decisions so he's likely to view Ms. Lim as some kind of malicious interloper," Hotch interjected.

"But he can't rape her or he and his mother might lose any contact they still have with the business his father built, one he still sees as his," Prentiss added.

"So instead of raping her, he rapes and exerts his 'power' over women he sees as being like her. Only in the last rape, something goes wrong and he ends up killing his victim," Rossi finished.

"Prentiss, I want you and Rossi to go talk to Joey Fung but I want you to take the lead. He's used to his mother deferring totally to his father. Let's see how he reacts when a woman is in charge. You two decide if he should be brought in for questioning and I'll try to get a court order for a DNA sample and forensics on his clothes," Hotch ordered.

-------------------

"Your temp is normal Dr. Kimura," Shirley said. Linda just nodded. "That's good. There's always a fever with Ebola. Are…are you still…uh…bleeding?" Linda nodded again as she sat in her chair and stared straight ahead. "Is there anything I can get you?" Shirley asked, hoping Linda would speak but she just shook her head. "The cultures will take a couple of days." Linda gave her a blank look. "If you need anything, ring your bell, okay?" Linda nodded again and Shirley finally left the room.

She was probably being rude, she told herself. They were doing their best for her but what if despite what all the indicators said, this was it, Ebola? There was a 50-90% death rate and no one knew why the people who did survive survived. If they knew why they could possibly develop a cure. If this was it, she didn't have long. What if he didn't get home before she… What if she never saw his face again or heard his voice or got to say good bye. No, she pounded her fist on the arm of the chair. She couldn't think like that. She was going to be here, waiting, when he walked into that ante room… She hoped.

-------------------

Their knock on the door of the Fung home was answered by a young Chinese man with a shaggy haircut a little shorter than Reid's, Emily thought when she saw him. He was thin, about 5'10", and had a surly expression on his face. "Joey Fung?" Prentiss asked. "Agent Prentiss FBI," she flashed her badge. She inclined her head toward her partner. "This is Agent Rossi."

"What do you want?" Joey asked, looking at Dave.

"We'd like to talk to you about the recent rapes in the city and the murder of Deborah Lee," Prentiss stated.

"Why would I know anything about that," he again addressed Rossi, ignoring Emily.

Prentiss stepped in front of Rossi, blocking him from Fung's view, "Because all of them were customers in your store, oh, I'm sorry, I mean Ms. Lim's store. And that's the only thing we could find that they had in common."

Joey Fung's hands curled into fists at the mention of Lily Lim. He refused to look at Prentiss. "Mr. Fung, I'd like you to come down to the precinct with us for questioning…"


	26. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

----------------

Joey Fung sat nervously in the interrogation room while the profilers went over their strategy. His foot tapped on the floor and his one knee kept hitting the underside of the table while small beads of perspiration accumulated on his forehead. "I don't think he'll talk to Emily Hotch," Morgan said. "You heard the way they said he was at the house."

"I think we have to make him explode," Hotch replied. "We need to get him to show his inner feelings towards these women. I don't think it'll work with Dave though."

Hotch explained his idea to the team.

-----------------

Beth looked around. No one seemed to be noticing her as she stepped away from the nurses' station and made her way down to the day room which, at the moment, was unoccupied. She pulled her cell from the pocket of her blue scrubs and stared at it for a moment. If anyone found out about this she'd be in big trouble. She turned the cell on and punched in the number she'd retrieved from Dr. Kimura's cell.

Reid pulled his ringing cell from his pocket, "Reid," he said into the instrument.

"H…hi, Dr. Reid, this is Beth at Walter Reid," he heard in his ear.

"Hi Beth," he looked confused.

"Dr. Reid, I sh…shouldn't be calling you. If anyone finds out I'll be in big trouble but Dr. Kimura's so down and I think the only thing that will make her feel any better is you," the excited Beth whispered rapidly.

"Beth, did something happen? Is Linda worse?" Reid asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

"She's not worse, at least I don't think so. I did something… Oh man, if anyone finds out about this I'm dead. It's against hospital policy and confidentiality rules. I slipped a disposable cell into her room. She doesn't know it's there. I thought maybe if she heard your voice she'd feel better." She reeled off the number she had written on a piece of paper. "I gotta go," she said as someone walked into the lounge. She quickly closed her cell and returned it to her pocket.

-------------------

"Ready Reid," Hotch said as the young agent closed his cell.

"Uh…yeah Hotch, ready. He followed Emily into the interrogation room.

"Mr. Fung," Emily said waving her hand dismissively in Reid's direction. "This is Agent Reid." Reid nodded at the man, not meeting his eyes. "Okay," Emily continued, "let's start with HaeJung Kim." She reached back as if waiting for Reid to hand her something. "The file Reid," she snapped her fingers.

"Oh…oh sorry Agent Prentiss, I forgot them." Reid turned towards the door while Emily sighed and rolled her eyes. Fung glared at her.

Reid returned quickly and handed HaeJung Kim's file to Emily. She removed the picture and placed it in front of Fung. "You knew her," she said.

Fung glanced at the picture and quickly looked away. "I saw her in the store a few times."

"You didn't like her did you?" Emily said, receiving only a shrug from Fung.

She reached back and Reid dutifully handed her a second file. Fung continued to glare at Emily while looking at Reid with confusion. "Jiao Chang," Emily placed the second photo in front of him. "You knew her too."

"She's a bitch," Fung replied.

"Why is she a bitch Joey?" Emily asked.

"She just is, that's all."

"Is it because she's a highly educated Chinese woman. Did she threaten your manhood?" Fung refused to look at Emily but past her to Reid who gave him a sympathetic look.

"Why don't you ask him?" he gestured his head towards Reid. "He knows what it's like to be around a woman who doesn't know her place."

"Oh, so you don't like women like HaeJung Kim, Jiao Chang, Sharon Saito and Deborah Lee because they don't know their place. You want women to be just like your mother. You don't want them to be successful and financially independent because it only points out what a failure you are as a man, doesn't it Joey?" Emily had her hands on the table, her face in Fung's face.

Fung looked at Reid. "Are you going to let this bitch talk to me like this? Why don't you do something? Prove you're a man for God's sake."

"What would you have him do?" Emily asked, "Attack me in a dark alley and force himself on me? Would that make him a man in your eyes Joey? Did it make you one?"

"They deserved it. They all deserved it with their high and mighty attitudes. They had no right to treat me like I was nothing." He screamed at Emily.

Prentiss turned to Reid, "I think we're done here."

--------------------

Linda sat on her bed, her meal, in plastic and Styrofoam containers that could be easily disposed of, sat on her bedside table, untouched. She knew she should eat. She needed to keep her strength up but she had no appetite. She wasn't nauseous she told herself. That was one of the symptoms of Ebola but she felt fine. She just didn't feel like eating. One of the girls would be in to scold her shortly if it wasn't the general himself. She was startled out of her reverie by a ringing sound. She looked around the room. There was no phone here, less chance of contamination. Cell phones were a no-no in the hospital but the ringing continued. It sounded like it was coming from her nightstand. She leaned over and opened the drawer to see a cell that was indeed ringing. She grabbed it like it was a life preserver, pushed the button and put it to her ear, "Hello."

She heard the voice of a cartoon character in her ear, "Eh, what's up Doc?"

"Spencer," she said as her face broke into a smile and she, once again, fingered her pink rabbit, "How did you…?"

"I'm not at liberty to say. How are you?" he replied.

"I'm fine," she said brightly, almost too brightly, Reid thought.

"That's not what I heard. I heard you've been kind of down."

"Who told you that?" she asked.

"I told you, I'm not at liberty to say," he repeated. "Now, what's wrong, other than being stuck in quarantine?"

"N…noth…okay, I've had some bleeding," she went on to explain.

"Well, maybe it's just…you know."

"Do you think I didn't think of that?" she told him. "It's too early."

"Yeah but, well you would know about this more than I would, but can't stress affect that kind of thing? I mean what could be more stressful than being stuck in isolation waiting to see if you have a disease."

"Yeah, you're right," she agreed.

"Of course I'm right, I'm a genius, remember."

"Yes, I remember a lot of things. How's your case going genius?"

"Done, finished, we should be on our way home shortly," he told her.

"Really," Linda squealed into her cell.

"Really," he stopped to say something to someone. "Our flight is ready to take off now. I'll see you soon, okay?"

"Okay," she said excitedly. "Bye." She pressed the button on the cell and stared at it. Her eyes shifted curiously to the drawer where the rabbit poking out of the top hat on the nightstand stood guard. She looked at the cell again; no, she thought as she shook her head before putting it back in the drawer. He was coming home. That was all that mattered. She looked at the meal in front of her. Suddenly she was starving. She picked up her fork and dug in.


	27. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--------------------

The hall lights were dimmed when Reid stepped off the elevator at Walter Reed. The bustling activity seen during the day had quelled and only the nurses and aides could be seen. He approached the nurses' desk to find Connie sitting behind it writing diligently in a chart. He stopped for a moment wishing it was anyone but Connie sitting there. He didn't want to remind her of his behavior towards her when she had given him the back rub. But, he told himself, it appeared that Connie was the one that was there so he better suck it up. He cleared his throat as he neared the desk and Connie looked up from her work.

"Oh, Dr. Reid, hello," she said.

"Uh…hi Connie," he gave a little wave.

"What are you doing here at this time of night?" she asked.

"I just got in from Indiana. We had a case there," he explained. The flight had seemed endless although his logical mind told him it was one of their shorter journeys. "I was wondering how Dr. Kimura is doing? Is it too late to see her?"

"Visiting hours have been over for a while." It looked like she wasn't about to do him any favors.

"Yeah, I figured as much, I just thought that maybe…"

"We'd break the rules and let you see her," a deep voice said from behind him.

Reid turned to see a man a couple of inches taller than himself and built like a linebacker. He had a full head of curly grey hair and a scowl on his face. Reid swallowed at the size and the bearing of the man who oozed authority.

"General Mattingly," Connie said, rising from her chair in his presence.

"Sit Connie," the general made a gesture with his hand and turned his attention to Reid. "Dr. Reid, I presume," the general grinned at his turn of the old quote by Stanley.

"Yes sir," Reid replied. "I'm sorry for coming so late. As I explained to Connie, our plane just got in and I was concerned about Li…Dr. Kimura."

The general appeared to be eyeing Reid like a father scrutinizing his daughter's date. "It's good to finally meet you," he stuck out his hand, "Mitch Mattingly, I've heard a lot about you from General Whitworth. Lee and I are old golfing buddies. He was impressed with your work on the anthrax case. So, apparently, was Linda, who described you as, 'In every way a good soldier,' and she's not easily impressed."

Reid's face went pink as he shook the general's hand, "Uh…thank you sir, it's good to meet you too."

"So, you're wondering if you'd be able to see Linda. Normally," he whispered, "I'm not one for stepping on the nurses' toes in these matters since technically they run the place." He winked at Connie. "But in this instance I think you may be just what the doctor ordered, the doctor being me, of course. She's still awake. I just left her. Connie would you like to take Dr. Reid to Linda's room?"

"Yes General, of course." She stood. "Come with me Dr. Reid."

Reid followed Connie to the ante room he'd been in before. "I'll go in and open the curtains so she can see that you're here." Connie began to gather her isolation equipment.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to go in," Reid said before the nurse had donned her gown.

"Go in," Connie echoed. "She doesn't want there to be any possibility that you'll be exposed.

"You all go in," Reid replied. "Just suit me up like one of you and I'll be fine. I promise not to break any precautions." Connie still looked unsure. "Remember what General Mattingly said," Reid prodded which seemed to tip the scales in his favor.

"Okay," she said, "I'll get you some scrubs."

---------------------

Linda sat on her bed, the pink bunny in her hands as she ran her fingers over the soft ears when the door opened and another gowned and masked figure entered the room. How she wished she could see people's faces. She wanted to see them smile, scowl, whatever, just some emotion. From now on she would know how her patients felt, like lepers that nobody wanted to touch, if there was a from now on, that is, she thought as she surveyed the person covered from head to toe, the only thing visible being the eyes. She looked into the brown orbs as they looked at her. Her eyes grew wide, "Spencer," she whispered.

"Hi," he said from beneath the mask that covered his mouth, nose and chin. He gave one of his little waves that she somehow found totally endearing. "We just got back from Indiana and I took a chance that they'd let me in to see you." He advanced further into the room.

Linda didn't move from her perch on the bed. "Spencer, stop, you know I don't want you in here. I don't want you to possibly be exposed to what I have, especially now that I've started bleeding. It could be the beginning of the hemorrhaging."

"Or it could just be that time of the month." Reid said, relieved that the mask and head covering he wore covered most of his face and there was less chance of her seeing him go pink at the topic of discussion.

"No, it's not. It's too early. Spencer, you have to go…please."

Instead of leaving Reid advanced still further into the room. "How are you feeling, other than the bleeding?" he asked.

"My back is aching, likely from this mattress. None of my patients has ever told me they were so uncomfortable."

"Yeah," Reid agreed. "I remember." He sat beside her on the bed and put his arms around her. "I told them I wouldn't break any precautions so there's no chance of a kiss."

Linda touched her fingers to her lips and touched the outside of his mask. "That'll have to do. How was the case?" she asked.

He told her about the case and how all the victims reminded him of her.

"At least I'm glad you weren't in any danger this time," she said as a grimace crossed her face.

"What's wrong?" Reid asked. She could see the concern in his eyes.

"Nothing, just a little cramp," she said as brightly as she could, hoping it wasn't the development of stomach pain, another symptom of Ebola.

"Do you want me to call for Connie?" he asked.

"No, it's passed now," she smiled in an attempt to hide her fear. "I'm surprised Connie let you in. She's a stickler for protocol."

"Well, I don't think she would have but General Mattingly happened by and…"

Linda suddenly grabbed her abdomen and let out a wail of pain.

"Linda, what is it?" Reid asked.

"I don't know," she looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. "Something's wrong!"


	28. Chapter 29

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-------------------

"Something's wrong," Linda said again as her one hand went to her abdomen.

Reid pushed the nurse call button and Connie's voice came through the intercom, "Can I help you Dr. Kimura?"

"Connie," Reid said anxiously, "she's having severe abdominal pain. It just came on suddenly."

"Okay, I'll alert General Mattingly and be right there," she said in response.

Reid stood up and took the stuffed rabbit out of her other hand and placed it back in the top hat. "I think you should lie down. Connie and the general will be here soon."

Linda nodded and allowed him to assist her to lie down; her hands still guarded her abdomen. She said nothing but Reid could see her pain and fear through the tears that had welled up in her eyes.

After what seemed like an eternity but was, in reality, only a few minutes the door burst open and General Mattingly rushed in followed by Connie. "What's happened Linda," the doctor asked with concern while Connie began to do what nurses always do, Reid thought, assess the vital signs.

"Temp- 98.7, BP-170/92, pulse-112, resps-24," Connie reported.

"Ooh, that BP's a bit high, what's got you so worked up my dear?" the general asked.

"It hurts," Linda said, still holding her abdomen, "I'd say it's about an eight out of ten," she gasped through gritted teeth.

Reid, who had moved off to the side to allow the professionals to work said, "She was saying her back was sore. We both thought it was from the uncomfortable mattresses here and then all of a sudden she got this abdominal pain."

"I'm bleeding more," Linda said, the fear and anxiety evident in her voice. "I can feel it gushing."

General Mattingly looked thoughtful for a moment. "Linda," he addressed her seriously. "Forget about the Ebola for a moment." Reid's eyes grew big. It was the first time he'd heard what toxin they were actually dealing with. "If a woman came to you with back pain, abdominal pain and unexplained vaginal bleeding, what would your first impression be?"

"I would think of a mi…but no, I mean I'm not…I had a period," Linda babbled.

"It could have been implantation bleeding. We both know that can mimic a period." His eyes, the only part of him she could see, looked sympathetically at the young woman he'd come to view almost as a daughter.

"You mean she's pregnant," Reid squeaked.

Mitch Mattingly looked at Reid with the same sympathy he'd shown Linda and nodded, "I believe so. I'm sorry son," he added, "but if I'm right, not for much longer." He turned to the nurse. "Connie, get Dr. Dallas, she practically lives here."

"Who's Dr. Dallas?" Reid asked as he sat in the chair by Linda's bed and took her hand.

"Major Dallas is an ob/gyn, this is her area of expertise"

Tears started to track down Linda's cheeks as Reid squeezed her hand, "I'm so sorry," she said.

"Shh, shh, it's not your fault," he said as he ran one of his gloved hands through her long dark tresses.

Connie returned, "Dr. Dallas is on her way," she told the general. "How're you doing Dr. Kimura?"

"I've been better Connie."

The door opened shortly afterward and a woman entered, protected like the others with a gown, mask, head and shoe coverings. Not being able to see any of her face except for her eyes, Reid judged her age to be about fifty. "Oh Linda," she said sadly as she approached the bed, "what have you gotten yourself into?" General Mattingly and Connie moved aside to allow the woman to examine the patient. She palpated Linda's abdomen and examined her under the covers. "I know this won't be of any comfort to you but it's almost over."

Linda groaned as blood clots and tissue flowed from her body. Eventually she could feel it no longer. "I think it's stopped now," she said to Dr. Dallas.

"I'm going to have to examine what she's expelled," she said to Reid. "You might not want to watch this. If she's expelled all the products of conception, we won't have to put her through a D&C."

"Products of conception," Reid echoed Dr. Dallas. "Is that all our baby is to you?" Reid still could hardly believe the words as they tumbled from his lips.

"I'm sorry if that sounded harsh." The woman's tone softened a little, "It's medical jargon. I sometimes forget there are people in the room who aren't medical professionals. I say that because it wasn't really a fetus yet."

"Dr. Reid," General Mattingly put an arm around Reid's shoulders. "Why don't you come with me and we'll let the women take care of Linda? You can come back and see her when they're done."

Reid looked back at Linda who nodded. He turned and left the room with the general while the two women began caring for Linda.

The two men discarded their isolation gear and scrubs, washed with disinfectant, donned new scrubs and headed back to the ward. "This way," Mattingly said as he led Reid down the dimly lit hallway. He opened an office door and Reid entered a large office taken up mostly by a huge desk that he thought befitted a man of the general's size. Diplomas lined the walls as well as some excellent art work. He'd never put his diplomas up in the space in his home he used as an office. There were a lot of them. He wondered if he should do that or if it would look ostentatious. He gave his head a shake. It was a ridiculous thing to be thinking about at a time like this. "Have a seat," Mattingly indicated two comfortable looking chairs upholstered in a soft dark brown leather. Reid did as he was told while the general went over to a credenza on the far side of the room. He opened one of the doors and removed two glasses. Another door revealed a hidden bar size refrigerator where he got two handfuls of ice. From still another part of the cabinet, he produced a bottle of blended Scotch. He poured a hefty amount in each glass and brought it back to the desk. "Here," he placed a glass in front of Reid. "If a man ever needed this you do."

He wasn't sure his compadres at Beltway Clean Cops would agree with that. "Thank you," Reid said and took a small sip of the liquid that burned all the way down his throat.

"Your head must be spinning about now," the general laced his fingers together in front of him on the desk.

"Uh…yeah, that would be an understatement. I had no idea Linda was pregnant, obviously neither did she. And before I could wrap my thoughts around that fact, it was gone," Reid responded.

"How do you feel about that?" the older man asked.

"I'm not sure yet. I mean I hadn't planned on being a father, a least not yet but, for a short time, even if I didn't know about it, I was. I helped create a life and now it's gone and even though I didn't know about it, it was part of me and right now I guess I feel, I don't know…loss."

Mitch Mattingly nodded. He liked this young man. He hadn't wiped his forehead and said, 'Phew, I really dodged a bullet that time,' like many young men would have done. He'd accepted his responsibility.

"I hope you know that Dr. Dallas didn't mean to belittle this in any way," Mattingly stressed. "She and Linda are friends, she'd never say anything to hurt her."

Reid nodded, "I realize that. It was just a gut reaction at the time. People often wonder how my team can look at dead and mutilated bodies and not be affected. If I felt sick about what I saw, I couldn't do my job so I understand where the major was coming from."

Mitch Mattingly smiled, not that anything that had been said had been amusing but he was glad that Linda had found a man as good as the one that sat in front of him. "Shall we go back and see how Linda's doing?" The two stood and left the room.


	29. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-------------------

Reid and General Mattingly entered the room to find Dr. Dallas gone and Connie taking yet another set of vital signs. "Your BP is down now Dr. Kimura. That analgesic should be taking effect as well. Is there anything else you need?"

"No Connie, thank you," Linda said, barely above a whisper.

"Connie," the general said softly. "Why don't we leave these two alone for a while?" Connie nodded and followed the older man who looked back at the couple, sympathy radiating from his eyes.

Reid stood there silently after the door had closed behind the pair, not sure what to say. Finally he approached the bed. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I don't know. I'm kind of numb at the moment. I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. Am I supposed to be happy that the bleeding wasn't hemorrhaging from the Ebola? I mean, I guess I'm glad about that but how can I be when it meant I lost a baby?" Tears started to track down her cheeks. "I didn't try to get pregnant, honest. I was on the pill but I guess nothing's a sure thing. I didn't even know I wanted a baby until Mitch convinced me I was losing one. Then I knew…then I knew I wanted this little being that was a part of you and suddenly it was gone and I don't know what I'm supposed to think or feel. I should feel relieved that there was another reason for the bleeding but right now I just feel," the tears came harder, "empty."

Reid sat on the chair beside the bed and took her hand in his gloved ones. The long fingers seemed to devour her tiny hand as her tears continued to flow. He didn't know what to say. Should he tell her everything would be okay? Would it? Would anything ever be the same again? He didn't realize he was crying too until he felt the dampness ooze underneath his mask and touch his lips. Because of the isolation precautions, he couldn't reach up and wipe them away.

"Are you still in pain?" he croaked through his tears.

"No, at least not the physical kind if that's what you mean." She saw the tears leaking under his mask. "I'm sorry you had to be here for that," she said.

"I'm not," he sniffed as his nose began to run under his mask. "I always want to be there for you. I wish I could have done something." He was the baby's father. He should have been able to do something. Fathers were supposed to…

"There's nothing you could have done." She broke into his reverie. "Lydia Dallas said there was nothing anyone could have done. I should have known. I mean, what idiot doesn't know she's pregnant? Maybe I could have…"

"General Mattingly said you might not have known. The implantation bleeding disguised the signs and Dr. Dallas is probably right, you couldn't have done anything," Reid argued.

"Then why do I feel like…?"

"Someone's sucker punched you in the gut and is off somewhere laughing hysterically," he sniffed again.

She only nodded as she closed her eyes, the tears pouring down her face, and began to sob. Reid moved to sit on the side of the bed and took her in his arms. "Why," she said into his shoulder. "Why did this have to happen to us? You're the genius; what's the answer?"

"If I knew why things like this happen, I wouldn't have spent four months looking for answers in a dilaudid bottle. We'll never know why. Garcia always says things happen for a reason but right now, I can't think of what that reason is." He sniffed again. "I read a book once by a rabbi who'd lost his son. He said we have to rise beyond why it happened and deal with what to do now that it has happened."

"I don't want to deal with what to do now that it's happened. I'm stuck in this room for twenty-four hours a day. The only time I see anyone is when they have to come in here and all I see is their eyes and what I see there is mostly pity. I'm mad, I'm scared, I'm lonely and now I just feel…I feel…broken."

Reid reached behind his ear and loosened the elasticized loop that held his mask in place. He released it and removed the mask. Linda marveled for a moment at the sight of him. He reached up to remove the covering on his head. "No," her hand stopped him. She gestured to the mask, "Put it back on."

"I'm sorry for ranting on about myself." She put her head down. "I haven't even asked you how you feel."

"I feel so many things all at once. It's hard to explain. Like you, I'm relieved that the bleeding didn't have anything to do with the Ebola but then one moment I find out you're pregnant and the next you're not. That should cancel things out and we're back to where we were before, right, only it doesn't work that way. Because now we know that that baby was there even if we didn't realize it and my heart," he pounded on his chest with his fist, "is breaking that it's gone."

There was a tap on the door. Linda grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand and dabbed at her eyes that were becoming red and swollen. She smoothed her hair as much as possible. "Come in," she said.

The door opened and Lydia Dallas walked in. "Hi Linda, I hope I'm not intruding but you said you wanted to know."

"Yes, I do, I…I need to know," Linda said.

"Know what?" Reid asked.

"Linda wanted to know the sex of the baby she was carrying. The tissue's been taken down to the lab and the embryo's been examined…"

"I never thought to say anything," Linda interjected. "Would you rather not know?" she asked Reid.

Reid thought for a moment. He hadn't thought about knowing. He thought of "it" as a baby they had lost but it wasn't like someone he'd ever had plans for but once Dr. Dallas told them the sex, the baby would be real. It would be his son or daughter and he'd always wonder what he or she might have been.

"If you'd rather not know," the doctor said, "I can come back tomorrow and tell Linda in private. Not everyone wants to know."

"No," Reid said, "I want to know. If I don't I'll always wonder."

Lydia nodded. Linda reached out for Reid's gloved hand and squeezed it. "The embryo was a female," the major said. She watched as both Linda and Reid closed their eyes, as if imagining a striking little girl with long black hair, lovely expressive brown eyes that were a window to her soul and beautifully sculptured hands. She watched the tears seep out from beneath their lashes, silent messengers of the couple's pain and anguish. She turned without a sound while maintaining the stiff military bearing she'd learned many years ago and left the room. The door shut silently behind her.


	30. Chapter 31

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-----------------------

"Hey pretty boy," Morgan said in a sing song voice. "You dashed away so fast when the plane landed last night; how's your lady doing?"

Reid removed his messenger bag from his shoulder and draped it over his chair. His jacket followed. He rolled up the sleeves of his steel blue shirt that he wore with grey cords and a grey sweater vest. "She's had better days," he replied as he stalked off in search of coffee.

Morgan raised his eyebrows and looked at Emily. "What was that about?" he gestured his hand in Reid's direction.

Emily shrugged. "You don't think Linda's developed some of the symptoms of this disease, do you? Look at Reid; he hasn't had dark circles under his eyes like that since Georgia."

"I agree, he's definitely not himself. He's been so up since he's been with Linda."

The pair gave their attention to the files in front of them when they saw the subject of their discussion returning to his desk. He set his coffee down and knocked three files on the floor. "Shit," he said loudly enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear him and gape. Dr. Reid never swore.

"Hey kid, what's the matter?" Morgan asked. "It's not like you to swear man."

"I'm sorry," Reid said as he picked up his files and slumped into his chair to begin his work.

"Reid, you know we're here for you if you need to talk about anything," Emily told him.

"Yes Emily, I know that, thank you." He opened the first file and began to read, effectively dismissing his colleagues.

--------------------

"Code blue to room 423," that was the third code that had been called today, Linda thought. The code blue team would be working to save someone's life. No one had worked to save her baby girl.

Spencer had wanted to stay with her but she had told him to go. It was too much sadness in one room. He had held her through the night. Neither one of them had slept.

She fingered the pink rabbit. She wondered if Spencer would have gotten a stuffed animal like this for their little girl. Would he have shown her magic tricks? There had been no magic yesterday and now there was no little girl. Linda's face began to crumble as the tears began again. She heaved the pink rabbit across the room where it hit the glass wall and fell to the floor.

--------------------

"Entre," Morgan heard when he knocked on Garcia's door.

"Hey baby girl, got a minute for your boy?" he asked.

"I always have time for you my chocolate god." Her hands stilled on her keyboard.

"Mama, have you talked to Reid today?"

"Well, he asked me to do a search for him, why?"

"Something's wrong. I thought he might have told you. He's really surly but he won't say anything. He knocked some files down this morning in the bullpen and he swore. Reid never swears. Something big is bothering the kid." He paused. "Maybe you could get it out of him."

"I can try but I'm not promising. I'm running that search for him so I'll call him when I'm ready."

----------------------

The door to Linda's room opened admitting Shirley. "Time for vital signs again already," Linda said, looking at the clock.

"No Dr. Kimura, I, well all of us, wanted to say how sorry we are about what happened.

"Thank you Shirley," Linda said quietly.

"All the girls wanted to come in but we didn't think you'd be up to it so we drew straws and I won," Shirley told her excitedly.

"Lucky you," Linda replied.

Shirley noticed the stuffed animal on the floor and bent to pick it up. "I'll put this little guy back where he belongs." She placed the rabbit back in the top hat. "Is there anything at all I can do for you doctor?"

"No, but do thank the girls for me," she said as she laid down on the bed and looked at the wall.

--------------------

Reid knocked on the door and entered when commanded to do so. "Hi Hotch, I wanted to make a request for a couple of hours of personal time this afternoon. I checked with JJ and she doesn't have a pressing case."

Hotch indicated the chair. "Is everything alright Reid?"

"With all due respect sir, there's a reason that it's called personal time," Reid looked down and then looked his unit chief in the eye.

"Fair enough, take your time," Hotch said as Reid got up and made his way to the door. "But my door's always open if you want to talk Reid." The young man only nodded and headed for the bullpen.

-------------------------

General Mattingly entered Linda's room. "How are you feeling physically?" he asked.

"Physically, I'm fine," Linda told him.

"I won't ask about the other like everyone else because I know."

"What do you mean, you know?" Linda asked.

"Do you think that Frannie and I have no children by choice?" Linda's eyes grew large at this admission. "Frannie could get pregnant, she just couldn't carry them. I know the loss that you and Spencer are feeling. You need time to get over it. You will get over it. You will smile again and you'll probably want to try and have another baby right away. Wait a few months. Spencer's not going anywhere, he loves you."

"Thanks," Linda said.

"What for?" the general wanted to know.

"For not being like everybody else."

Oh, my dear, haven't you learned by now that no one's ever accused me of being like anyone else." He reached into the pocket of his scrubs and pulled out a deck of cards. "I'm not as nimble with these as that other guy but the last time we played you robbed me blind. I think today might be my lucky day."

------------------------

"So, I did what you asked," Garcia told Reid as they huddled together in front of her bank of computer screens. "The rapes that took place in Jackson County also carry on into Lafayette, Saline, Cooper and Boone counties. It looks like he's moving down the I70 but nobody picked up on it before."

"He's mobile, likely a trucker or a traveling salesman of some kind. I'll alert Detective Warner, maybe the Missouri state police and the marshals. Thanks Garcia," he turned to leave.

"Hey not so fast my junior G man. Why is this man not smiling? You look downright grouchy today sweetcheeks. What's up?" Garcia stood with her arms crossed over the flowery tunic she wore with a black skirt.

"Garcia, I have work to do," Reid turned toward the door.

"Reid, I'm worried about you babycakes. You look like you haven't slept." She took in the dark circles under his eyes.

"Look, don't worry about me, I'm fine or I would be if everyone would just leave me the hell alone. I'm sorry I'm not fitting into your Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm world today. You think everything happens for a reason; well let me tell you it doesn't. Sometimes there's no reason for the cruel hand life deals you. You hear me Garcia, sometimes there's just no reason." He stormed out of the room slamming the door behind him.

----------------------

He stared at the floor, turning his medallion over and over in his hands. The sun shone brightly through the windows. There was a light breeze blowing, just enough to keep it from being overly hot. It was the perfect day. It didn't seem right that the sun should be shining, that the birds should sing, that people should still bustle about their business as if nothing had happened. He and Linda had lost their baby and the world was just carrying on. He'd looked at enough bodies to realize that, hadn't he? Every body he saw was somebody's baby, somebody's world. He roused from his musings when a voice said it was time to begin. Reid got quickly to his feet. "My name is Spencer…"


	31. Chapter 32

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

-----------------

"Where's Reid?" Morgan asked when the food for lunch arrived from the deli and was being passed out.

"He asked for some personal time this afternoon," Hotch told them.

"Personal time, what kind of personal time?" Morgan wondered as he lifted his pastrami on rye to his mouth.

"He wouldn't say," Hotch said after swallowing a spoonful of his mushroom soup, but I wouldn't tell you even if he had. That's why it's called personal time," Hotch quoted his youngest profiler.

"Well something is definitely wrong with him," Garcia mixed dressing into her chicken Caesar salad. "He was really angry this morning when I tried to get it out of him. He was yelling at me that I think everything happens for a reason but sometimes there is no reason."

"Guys, I don't like the sound of that," Emily said. "I wonder if Linda's gotten sick and maybe, like with the anthrax, he can't say anything."

"Did he say anything to you Jaje?" Garcia asked.

"No, he just asked if there was anything pressing and I told him no." JJ put a forkful of her Cobb salad into her mouth.

"Okay, the guy's obviously got a problem and it's bothering him but Reid's a big boy. He can figure it out for himself and if he wants our help he'll ask for it." Rossi weighed in on the discussion.

The group just stared at him. Garcia was the first to speak. "With all due respect Agent Rossi, you don't know what happened the last time Reid had a big emotional problem."

"Yes Garcia, I think I do. I'm a profiler, remember. I read over the case file from Georgia. I think I know what happened but, for the life of me, I can't find a single written report to support my theory." The other five at the table exchanged conspiratorial glances. "But I will tell you what I know. Reid recently contracted anthrax. He could have died. The only thing that was giving the patients any comfort was the morphine. But Reid refused it. If ever a man had a good reason for taking morphine, this would have been it. He was probably dying anyway, so why not? But he didn't. He held on. He refused to give in. That tells me he won't give in now if that's what you're all afraid of."

"You didn't see how angry he was," Garcia interjected.

"No, I didn't," Rossi agreed between bites of his BLT on rye. "But I know it takes a lot to get Reid mad. He's not the kind to punch on a wall like Morgan. When he gets mad, he blows. He lets off the steam and then he looks after the problem. Give him time. He'll come around."

--------------------

Linda's door opened and Reid walked in. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at work."

"I asked for a few hours of personal time. I went to a meeting. I just had to come and see how you were doing before I went back," he told her.

"I'm okay," she went into his arms. "Shirley came by with condolences from the girls. I'm afraid I wasn't very hospitable. I'll have to apologize. The general came by to cheer me up. His wife had four miscarriages so he understands."

"I'm sure Shirley and the girls will understand. I'm not so sure about my team though," he said as he sat in the chair beside her bed.

"What do you mean? What did they say when you told them?" She took his hands in hers.

"That's just it, I didn't tell them. All I did was act like an angry bear. I was rude to everybody, swearing in the bullpen. It was like the days when I was on dilaudid, only then I didn't care," he admitted with his head down.

Linda put her fingers under his chin and lifted his head so her eyes looked into his brown pools. "You have to tell them. Then they'll understand your behavior. You're obviously in the anger phase of grieving. They'll help you. It's not a secret. It helped a lot to talk to the general. I know talking to your team will help you. You can't just carry this around all by yourself."

"I'm not by myself, I have you," he replied.

"Yeah, well I'm in much the same shape you are so I can't be very objective."

"Okay," he agreed at last. "I'll tell them when I go back. I don't know how I'll do it without breaking down." He changed the subject. "Have you been able to get any rest?"

"I napped a little. You look awful mister," she took in the dark circles under his eyes. "I want you to go straight home from work and sleep."

"No, I'll come back here and be with you," he insisted.

"No you won't, and if you try, I'll instruct them not to let you in. You need sleep. Call me on the disposable cell later," Linda directed like a drill sergeant.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Those brown eyes almost made her give in but she held her ground, "Positive."

"Okay, I love you," he said as he held her close.

"I love you too," she let go of him and he headed for the door with a small wave and he was gone.

---------------------

Reid entered the BAU, dropped his messenger bag on his chair and headed straight for Hotch's office. Morgan and Prentiss exchanged concerned glances. Reid knocked twice on Hotch's door which was open, "Hi Reid, what can I do for you?" the unit chief said.

"Uh Hotch, do you think I could talk to everybody in the conference room for a few minutes?"

"Sure Reid, are you okay?"

"I've had better days but I'll be alright," Reid said as the pair walked along the walkway to the conference room.

"Morgan, Prentiss, get JJ and Garcia, conference room now." The pair nodded and sprang from their desks in search of their teammates. Hotch knocked on Rossi's door and stuck his head in, "Dave, conference room."

It took a few minutes before the seven members of the team were assembled around the table. "Okay Reid, you've got the floor," Hotch said.

"Uh, thanks Hotch," Reid cleared his throat. "First I'd like to apologize for my behavior this morning especially to you Garcia, you didn't deserve that. I'm just trying, well, both Linda and I are trying to deal with something that, hmmm," he cleared his throat again, "happened last night."

He looked around at six faces glued to him. "Last night," he looked down at the table, "we found out that Linda was pregnant while she was uh…having a miscarriage." There was a collective gasp in the room. "She was bleeding and she was afraid it was hemorrhaging from what she was exposed to but it ended up it wasn't. It was a miscarriage. Linda didn't even realize she was pregnant. I was there and saw the whole thing. It was pretty awful. Dr. Dallas, the ob/gyn came back later and told us the embryo was a girl." Reid seemed to choke on his words.

"Oh sweet boy, I'm so sorry," Garcia got up from her seat and came to put her arms around him. "Is Linda okay?"

"Physically, yeah, we're relieved it wasn't from her exposure but what a way to find out. Of course, she's upset. She tells me I'm in the anger phase of grief and that's why I was so rude to you. She's probably right. I just feel mad at the whole world."

"It's okay, you wail away at me as much as you want. I can take it. We all can." She turned to the others who nodded.

"Aw geez man, I'm sorry," Morgan came over and put his arm around Reid's shoulder. JJ and Emily followed.

"It's strange you know, we didn't even know the baby was there until Linda was losing her and yet once she was gone, I felt a loss like I've never felt before."

JJ crouched down in front of her friend. "She was your child, even if it was only for a moment. I know there will never be anything more important in my life than my child. I can only imagine what you must be feeling."

"Reid, I want you to take the rest of the day off," Hotch said. "You shouldn't be here anyway."

"No, that's okay Hotch, I can work. Linda just wanted me to tell you guys so you wouldn't think I was cracking up."

"So now we know, go home, get some rest if you can. You look like you need it," Rossi said. He squeezed Reid's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Reid nodded as the other profilers filed out of the room, each giving him a hug or pat on the back. Garcia was the last to leave. Reid called out to her. "So Garcia, in your everything happens for a reason philosophy, what was the reason for this?"


	32. Chapter 33

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

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The door opened and she was free. Was this what a prisoner felt like being let out of jail? The three weeks had seemed like an eternity. It was so good to see her team's faces, their whole faces. She hugged them all. Although she'd seen them almost every day, they'd been covered and the situation had been tense. Now she could concentrate on her work again. It would take her mind off the loss of her baby. Most of all she wanted to see Spencer. She wanted to see his face and kiss him. If she was honest with herself, she wanted to do more than kiss him but since he was at work in the middle of the afternoon, she'd have to settle for possibly stealing a kiss.

She'd head home and change into a really great outfit. Maybe after she saw him she'd pick up some ingredients for a fantastic dinner. After three weeks she could imagine what her fridge looked like. She could stop off at La Senza, since it was in the same mall as the supermarket, and buy something sexy to wear for dessert.

----------------

"Earth to Reid," Morgan said as his friend did not appear to be answering his question.

"W…what?" Reid said at last.

"At least it's alive," Morgan teased.

"Of course I'm alive Morgan, what are you talking about?"

"Well since I've been talking to you for the last five minutes, you'd think you'd know what I'm talking about but you've been staring off into space like a zombie."

"Sorry Morgan, I was thinking," Reid replied.

"Well, what a surprise. I think I'll have JJ alert the press."

"Very funny Morgan. I was just thinking that if General Mattingly gives his okay, Linda could get out of isolation today."

"Oh, and you were thinking of some of the fun things you might do together. I can see why you weren't listening to me." Morgan turned his head just as the doors to the BAU opened. "Uh Reid, I think you just might have got your wish."

"Morgan what are you…" he turned his head as Morgan gestured and there she was, a vision in a sundress held up by spaghetti straps that displayed white orchids and pale green leaves on a muted pink background. It clung to her curves but flared at the hips, ending just above her knee. The white shrug she wore did nothing to hide the allure of the neckline that showed just the tiniest hint of cleavage. The material swirled around her legs as she walked. She wore a pair of flat matching pink sandals. Her gleaming black hair fell to her shoulders in loose curls.

"Ooh la la," Morgan nudged his friend. "I know she didn't put that dress on for me but I can still enjoy the view, along with every other guy in the place."

Reid's eyes grew large. "Uh hi," he said as she approached, "you got out." _Of course she got out you idiot, she's standing right in front of you and for once everyone in the place knows what you're thinking._

"Yes, General Mattingly gave me the all clear. I thought I'd come and see you. I thought maybe we could have…uh coffee. And then I'd grocery shop and make you a great dinner."

"Sure, coffee sounds good. I could use a break anyway." He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and followed Linda to the door.

"You kids be good now," Morgan hollered after them.

"Is that Linda Kimura?" Rossi asked, coming up behind Morgan.

"Yeah, she just got out of the hospital, they're going for uh…coffee." Morgan replied.

"Oh, is that what they're calling it these days?" Rossi remarked with a smirk.

"Apparently so," Morgan chuckled.

"Then I'll have what Reid's having," Rossi said as he headed for the stairs.

--------------------

The pair had gone through the drive thru at McDonalds so they could honestly say they got coffee. "I know I shouldn't have come to the BAU but I just had to see you."

"Did you have to come dressed like that? Every guy in the place was ogling you."

"Aah, but that's not what's important." She reached her hand up and ran her fingers through his hair. "What's important is that I only had eyes for you." She put her arms around his neck while he claimed her lips in a kiss that seemed to go on forever. "Man did I miss you," she said when they came up for air.

"I missed you too," he said before claiming her lips again. "I better take you back to your car before this gets out of hand," Reid said when the couple finally parted.

"I need to go back to the BAU anyway," Linda said as Reid put the car in drive and headed back to the FBI building.

"Why?" he asked.

"I need to talk to Emily and thank her. She sent me a lovely card and shared something personal with me she thought might help after I lost our baby. It did help."

"What was it?" he asked, curious to know what his friend had shared with Linda.

"I'm not going to tell you. If Emily wants to, she can."

----------------

"Oh come on Garcia, couldn't you do it another weekend?" JJ said, following the computer tech up the hallway from their offices.

"No JJ, I can't. Kevin and I have had this booked for a long time. We don't often get the same weekend off," Garcia told her as the elevator doors opened revealing Reid and Linda, who stepped from the car.

"But you're his godmother. That sort of falls under godmothering duties, doesn't it?" JJ persisted.

"Yeah, well Reid's his godfather. Why don't you ask him?" Garcia shot back, almost running into Reid and Linda.

"Linda, you're out! It's so good to see you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm great thanks, glad to be back with the living. Taking things one day at a time. Thank you for the lovely flowers you all sent."

"Ask me what?" Reid interrupted, honing in on the part of the overheard conversation that had been about him.

"Don't worry about it Reid. I'm not going to ask you," JJ assured him.

"Ask me what?" Reid repeated.

JJ rolled her eyes. "Okay, Will got a call last evening that his father is getting some kind of posthumous award from the New Orleans' Police Association. There's some kind of ceremony and they want Will to accept on his father's behalf. But to go, we need someone to look after Henry. Don't worry Reid, I know you're his godfather but you don't have any experience with babies. Maybe Em…"

"We'll take him," Linda interjected.

"What?" JJ looked stunned.

"Spencer and I," Linda reiterated, "we'll take him."

"We will?" Reid sounded more stunned than JJ. Linda turned and gave him a look. "Okay then, I guess we will."


	33. Chapter 34

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

--------------------

Reid opened his eyes to find the sun streaming in the windows of Linda's condo. He looked at the spot beside him on the bed but it was empty, only the indentation on the pillow bore witness that someone else had slept there. Well, that and the clothes that lay strewn haphazardly throughout the room. He smiled when he thought of the physical exploits of the night before, some need driven and frantic, others sensual and languid. Linda, he'd discovered, was an adventurous tigress in bed and she had awakened a side of himself he was surprised to realize existed.

A loud squeal emanated from the floor below. That was why she had left the comfort of their bed, Henry. Reid got up, donned his sleep pants and wrapped himself in a terrycloth robe Linda had bought for him. He kept a few clothes here as well. He bounded down the stairs to hear Linda doing a very credible imitation of a jet engine as she twisted and turned a spoon holding something that looked totally unappetizing towards Henry who squealed with delight.

"You're such a good boy," Linda said in the high pitched voice people always seemed to reserve for babies.

"Good morning," Reid said as he bent to kiss her. "I see you two are up early. Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked so comfortable sleeping. I didn't have the heart," she replied as another spoonful made its way into Henry's mouth.

"Yeah, well I was tired," he raised his eyebrows. "You know how to wear a guy out."

"On the contrary, I thought you displayed remarkable stamina," she winked. "At least I didn't hear you complaining last night."

"Nor will you, as long as you don't try to feed me," he pointed to the food in the three sections of Henry's bowl, "I'm not even sure what that is."

"It's healthy food for a young little boy like Henry," another spoonful was devoured by the infant.

"Give me sugar laced coffee any day," he yawned as the aroma from the kitchen drew him to the coffee pot. "So what are our plans for the day with Master Henry?" he asked as he added sugar to his coffee.

"I thought we'd take him in the stroller to the park. Why don't you finish feeding him while I go take a shower?"

"I don't know anything about how to feed a b…baby," he stammered as she stood to head for the stairs.

"JJ was confident when she made you his godfather, you're a genius," she giggled. "You'll figure it out."

Reid sat in the chair vacated by Linda and looked at the infant sitting on the table in his carrier. He'd seen his godson a few times and even held him but he'd never had anything to do with the actual day to day care and maintenance of the baby. "Um okay Henry, let's see if we can get the rest of this…goop into you." He took a spoonful of the baby food and brought it to the baby's mouth. The mouth didn't open like it had for Linda. He attempted to make himself sound like a jet engine weaving the spoon this way and that but Henry only looked at him like he was an alien life form. He tried making what he considered were funny faces but to no avail. The Jaws of Life could not have pried the baby's mouth open. He looked into his godson's eyes and followed his line of sight. "Oh, I get it now, you were looking at Linda's breasts and thinking lunch. I hear ya," he put his hand up to hide his mouth and whispered, "I was doing the exact same thing last night. Don't you dare tell JJ I said that." Henry, for some reason, seemed to find this amusing and laughed giving Reid an opening to stick the spoon in his mouth. He raised his arms like he'd scored the winning touchdown in the super bowl.

When Linda returned to the dining room Reid had just given Henry his last spoonful of what Linda said was food. "See, you did just fine," she said.

"I appealed to his baser instincts," Reid told her. Linda looked confused at this comment. "Never mind, it's a guy thing."

"Why don't you go and shower while I make breakfast?"

------------------------

Although the day was sunny and mild for September, Linda had insisted on putting a denim jacket over Henry's tee shirt that he wore with blue jeans. The baby seemed to be taking in the new sights and sounds as this was not the usual walk to the park he made every day with his daddy. The park was alive with activity when the threesome arrived. Children played on the swings and the slide, others dangled from monkey bars with the fearlessness of youth while yet another group tossed a Frisbee around. A man and a young boy were off to one side playing catch. The man, his father the couple presumed, seemed to be doing most of the catching while the boy was left to run after the ball when he missed it. They saw a little girl with her blond hair tied in pigtails crouched behind a bush, obviously hiding from the child who was It in a game of hide and seek. Youngsters on bicycles and skateboards cruised on the cement pathways.

Linda smiled at all the things going on while it only reminded Reid of all the things he'd missed as a child. They found a bench with a good view of the park and sat down. Linda turned the stroller so Henry could get a good view of the goings on while making sure to shade him from the sun. An elderly woman sat on the bench as well. Her face was lined with age but she smiled and nodded at them as they sat down. Linda noticed the support stockings, the orthopedic shoes the woman wore and the cane that leaned against the bench beside her. "It's a lovely day," the woman said. "My granddaughter," she gestured to the woman and three children who played with the Frisbee, "wants her kids to run off some energy or they'll be totally unmanageable. She banged her cane on the ground. "It's hard to believe I had energy like that once. This little one will too." She reached out one hand and touched Henry's cheek. "How old is he?" she asked.

"He's ten months," Linda replied.

"He's a hefty little guy," she said.

"Yeah, he's a good eater," Linda responded to which Reid rolled his eyes.

The Frisbee thrown by the woman's granddaughter was missed by her little girl and sailed over Reid's head into the bush behind the bench where they sat. The child came to retrieve it but soon called out, "I can't reach it mommy."

"I'll get it," Reid said saving the harried mother from having to disengage the toy from the bush herself.

"He's fair," the old woman said, gesturing to Henry while Reid worked at recovering the Frisbee. "He doesn't have any of your coloring. I guess he takes after your husband which isn't too bad," she added with a wink.

"Oh no, Henry's not my ba…" Linda stopped speaking as tears pricked at the back of her eyes. "I didn't get a chance to have my baby," she whispered softly. "We…we have to go," Linda said when Reid came back after returning the Frisbee to the child.

"Go," Reid said, "we just got here."

"Please," he could hear the tears in her voice. "Can we just go?"

"Sure, okay," what had happened to upset Linda so suddenly.

------------------

Linda refused to talk on the walk back from the park. She'd just kept her head down and pushed the stroller. Once they were inside the condo, Reid asked, "Are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

"That woman, she thought Henry was my baby and when I tried to tell her all I could think of was that I never got a chance to have my baby." She burst into tears.

Reid held her in his arms while she cried. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"You're doing it, just by being here." She released herself and headed for the living room.

Reid looked at the direction she'd gone and back at Henry. "I guess it's just you and me buddy." He released Henry from the stroller and the baby began to cry. "Uh, could you please not do this now?" he asked but the tears kept falling. Worse yet, something didn't smell very good. "Okay, I guess this is diapers for dummies 101." He carried the infant up the stairs to the spare bedroom and the huge bag of supplies JJ had brought. "I'm going as fast as I can," he told the wailing infant. "Okay, diaper, wipes, baby powder. This must be the thing you change him on," Reid said as he gathered the needed supplies. He laid the pad on the bed and gently put the baby on the pad and started to remove the infant's pants, which was difficult because Henry would not stop moving his legs. "Um Henry, if you could cooperate just a little, it would help a lot."

"Let me," he heard from the doorway.

"No, it's okay. I can do it…I think," Reid replied looking at Linda and taking in her red eyes.

"I'm sure you can but I'm okay now." She sniffed as she smiled at the baby. "Henry, do you need that nasty diaper changed?" She took over and Henry seemed to cooperate beautifully with her. He laughed as she tickled his tummy.

Reid felt tears prick at the back of his own eyes as he saw what she would have been like with their baby girl. He turned and ran from the room before she could see.


	34. Chapter 35

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

---------------------

Linda's cell rang, "Dr. Kimura," she said. "Yes, I see. How many victims so far?" She listened some more. "Okay, alert the team. I'll be there as soon as I can."

She had been cuddled on the couch with Reid. "It's been a slice but I have to go," she said as she eased herself out of his arms, "An outbreak in Michigan."

Reid couldn't hide the grimace that came to his face. "Isn't there such a thing as a desk job at the CDC?"

"What do you mean?" she asked as she put her shoes back on.

"First of all, I like to have you here," he put his arms around her from behind and kissed her cheek, "and secondly, your job seems really dangerous. You always seem to be coming in contact with some killer bug."

"This from the man who runs around chasing serial killers for a living," she laughed.

"I'm serious Linda, sometimes I think your job is too dangerous," Reid replied.

"My job is too dangerous," an edge crept into her voice.

"Look what happened with the Ebola and that was all because of a faulty latex glove. You didn't get it thank God, but you could have. I worry about you."

"And you don't think I worry about you when you strap on your glock and head out of here in search of some monster," Linda countered, her voice rising. "Do you think I don't lie in bed at night when you're gone and pray that your bulletproof vest will protect you? I thought you'd died in that explosion and then you tell me that you had actually gone in that building while that bomb was still in there. It could just as easily have been you. Who's to say some psycho won't kidnap you again? And you think my job is dangerous!"

"If I get hurt on the job, it's just me," Reid said.

"What do you mean by that?" Linda asked suspiciously.

"I'm just saying that with women it's different," Reid tried to explain.

"What do you mean it's different? You work with women agents and I've never heard you complain that they're not as good as you."

"I'm not complaining. They are as good as me, probably better but I'm just saying with women there are other things to consider."

"Such as?" she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"There's no need to take a defensive posture. I'm not trying to pick a fight with you," Reid replied.

"Then what are you doing? You're trying to say something you think I'm not going to like but you're beating around the bush. Why don't you just come out and say it?"

"Okay, when JJ got pregnant she took herself out of the field. I'm just saying that maybe if you hadn't been in contact with the Ebola…"

Linda's eyes widened. "I can't believe you just said that. You're blaming me because we lost our baby?"

"I'm not saying that," he put his hands up defensively. "I did some reading and it said that the introduction of a toxin can cause a miscarriage and you're around dangerous pathogens all the time. Maybe you didn't get the Ebola because you were strong enough to fight it but our little girl wasn't strong enough yet."

"Spencer, I didn't even know I was pregnant. How could I protect a baby I didn't even know was there?" She stared at him in disbelief. "I can't believe all this time you've thought…"

"No Linda," he moved toward her but she backed away. "I was just thinking about how long it is between when a woman conceives and when she realizes, a month, six weeks…What could happen in that time? How many pathogens could you come in contact with? That's all I'm saying."

"Did all this reading you did tell you that miscarriages are most common with the first baby and are more common with women over thirty-five? Maybe that's why I lost my baby. Did you ever think of that?"

"Yes, I thought of that. I'm just trying to think logically so that this doesn't happen the next time."

"And did this reading you did also tell you that the male can also be at fault in a miscarriage?" she snapped at him.

"W…what?"

"Oh, surprise, a man's health can affect the quality of his sperm. Now, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you recently have anthrax? That could have affected the quality of your little swimmers."

"You think that I'm…?

"Well, you obviously think that I am and I don't think you have to worry about a next time. There isn't going to be a next time."

"You don't mean that. We're going to try again for a baby aren't we?"

"No, we are not. How can I have a baby with you knowing that you think I all but killed our little girl?" Tears started to run down her face. "I have been so devastated. I've asked myself a hundred times a day if it's something I did. I thought you were so supportive and all this time you've been thinking …this!" Reid tried to approach her. "No," she screamed, "don't touch me. Don't touch me ever again. I have to go now but when I get back, I want you and your stuff gone." She walked to the hall closet where she kept her own go bag, grabbed it, her keys, her jacket and her purse and slammed out the door.

--------------------

"Will and I had dinner the other night at that new place on M Street. You should take Linda there. I think she'd really like it," JJ said as they both got their morning coffee in the break room.

"I doubt that will happen," Reid replied.

"Why not?"

"Linda broke up with me," Reid said, refusing to meet JJ's eyes.

"Why would she break up with you? She adores you," JJ said.

"Not any more apparently."

"What happened?" She could see her friend was totally dejected.

"I guess I opened my mouth and said too much." Reid told her about the argument with Linda.

"Oh Spence, you said that, are you crazy?"

"No, at least I didn't think so. Is it wrong to want her to be more careful? I don't know if the pathogen she came in contact with was responsible for the miscarriage but it's a possibility I just wanted her to consider, that's all."

"Oh, and believe me, she'll consider it and she'll blame herself for the loss of her baby," JJ told him. "She probably already was and this just made it worse. She was a mother for a short time and a mother will do anything to protect her baby and you just told her she didn't."

"Yeah, okay, I get it JJ. I'm a crass asshole. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess Linda deserves better than me anyway." He told her about Linda's accusations toward him

"Spence, that's not what I meant. I can just see it from her side and you can't." She paused for a few moments. "It hurt, didn't it, to think that you might be at fault."

"I never meant to hurt her. I lo…"

"Hey Reid," Morgan called from his desk, "your lady's on TV." Morgan found the remote and turned up the volume while Reid and JJ came to look at the TV.

The name on the screen said the speaker was Adrienne Michaels, mayor of Lansing, Michigan. Beside her on the podium stood an as yet unnamed man and Linda dressed in a conservative royal blue suit, her hair pulled back in its usual chignon. "I'll hand it over to Dr. Linda Kimura from the CDC, Dr. Kimura," she gestured with her hand as Linda stepped up to the lectern.

Linda moved the microphone down to her height. "The CDC is investigating an outbreak of Listeria. We believe it originated at a realtors' convention held here in the city. Listeria is a pathogen found in foods such as milk, cheese, especially soft cheese, raw vegetables and processed meats. Once it gets into the gastrointestinal tract and into the bloodstream, it can cause septicemia, that's blood infection, meningitis, encephalitis and pneumonia. There is an up to 70% death rate with Listeria."

She cleared her throat. "At particular risk are pregnant women." She was silent for a moment, appearing to try to maintain her composure. "Listeria can cause intrauterine and cervical infections and once in the bloodstream it passes through the placental barrier. This can result in spontaneous abortions in the second and third trimesters as well as stillbirths. Greater than 80% of babies of infected mothers will die. Please," she begged the camera, "if you are pregnant, think you might be pregnant, even if there's the," her voice quivered momentarily, "slightest chance, I urge you to avoid the foods Mr. Marsden from the FDA will list for you." Reid could see her hands shaking.

"All foodstuffs from the convention are being analyzed and when the contaminated food is identified it will be traced back to the factory where the contamination likely occurred. I'll now pass you over to Donald Marsden from the FDA who will give you more information on the foods to avoid." Linda turned from the microphone.

Reid sat at his desk and pulled out one of the files JJ had put there this morning. He smelled her perfume as she bent down close to his ear and whispered. "She's pretty emotional right now, hang in there Spence."


	35. Chapter 36

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: This is the last chapter folks. Thanks to all who took the time to read and review. It was greatly appreciated.

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The elevator doors opened on the sixth floor and the six members of the BAU team exited the car. Garcia, who'd been waiting rushed forward, "Sweetcheeks, are you okay?" She asked Reid who now sported a sling on his left arm.

"Yeah Garcia, I'm fine. It was just a small shot in the arm, soft tissue injury, no broken bones. The sling's just for sympathy." He raised his eyebrows. "Looks like it's working."

"Reid, I think you should have gone straight home from the airport," Hotch stated.

"Hotch, I'm fine. I want to finish my report," he said. _What was the use of going home? All he'd do is think about Linda and what a mess he'd made of things._

_-----------------------_

Linda dragged herself into her office and kicked off her shoes as she sat in her swivel chair. She needed sleep but every time she laid her head down all she could see was Spencer telling her she'd killed their baby.

_That guy in Lansing hadn't helped. He'd been brought in by his friends. He was experiencing a severe gastrointestinal disturbance and trouble breathing. He was only twenty-eight with brown hair and twinkling brown eyes that reminded her so much of Spencer. His friends refused to leave and she remembered all over again why she'd fallen in love with the young genius._

She pulled a research paper out of her desk drawer. She guessed she might as well read.

------------------------

"So how was he in Denver?" Garcia asked JJ when she'd come into the tech's office.

"He was pretty down. He looks really tired. I don't think he's getting any sleep," the blond agent responded.

"This is ridiculous," Garcia said, "those two are made for each other."

"Yeah, well, Reid loves her. He's not so sure that she reciprocates anymore. I told him it was a pretty emotional time for Linda and he should hang in there. I hope I gave him the right advice."

"We've got to do something," Garcia replied.

"Like what?" JJ asked.

"Leave that to me," Garcia turned towards her phone. "We'll talk later JJ, I have work to do."

------------------------

"The soft knock on her door interrupted her reading. General Mattingly opened the door. "How are you this evening my dear?" he asked.

"I'm fine general, and you?" Linda replied.

"You're not a very good liar and I've heard through the grapevine that you're not seeing Dr. Reid anymore. That saddens me; he was so perfect for you. That must be the cause of your red eyes and those dark circles under them."

"General, he thinks I killed our baby." She told him about the argument.

"Oh Linda, I don't think he believes for one moment you killed your baby. He's concerned about the dangerous job of the woman he loves. I don't know a man who wouldn't be."

"You think I overreacted?" Linda asked. " And then I tried to shift the blame to him."

"We all do things like that at one time or another. Listen, you're still grieving and trying to come to terms with something you didn't even realize was happening to you. It's understandable. We all say things we don't really mean in a heated moment."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," Linda called.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sandy said. "I wasn't aware you were with someone."

"I was just leaving." General Mattingly rose from his chair.

"Please, don't leave on my account. It's just that a group of us were going to Brannigan's for a drink. We felt after the last couple of months we needed to unwind. We'd like you to join us."

"No Sandy, I don't think I'm up…"

"I think it's a great idea," the general agreed, looking at Sandy. "You've got to stop staring at four walls and get into life again." He pulled Linda to a standing position. "I know you've got a change of clothes here, go change and go have some fun." He raised his hand when Linda was about to speak. "That's an order."

---------------------

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Reid said as he took a sip of the beer in front of him.

"Hey man, you need to get out and have a little fun more often," Morgan shouted.

"They're here," Garcia yelled as Kevin and Will joined the party. Each went to kiss their respective ladies.

"Look at it this way Reid," Emily gestured to his beer. "It might help dull the pain of your injury and you might actually get some sleep tonight."

_Yeah, the alcohol might dull the pain of his physical injury but it would do nothing to cure his aching heart. That was the most important thing he'd learned at Beltway Clean Cops._

"Garcia, how did you know about this place?" Emily took in her surroundings. It was a good sized back room off the main bar used mostly for private parties, Emily surmised. It had a few tables, a small dance floor and a very old fashioned jukebox.

"I know Guy Brannigan. I've been to a couple of parties back here. It's not as loud as the main bar, and we get to choose the music!" She pointed to the jukebox.

Reid got up to peruse the music selection. "Some of this stuff is over twenty years old," he turned towards the group as Shirley, Sandy, Beth, Connie and Linda walked into the room.

Time seemed to stand still as Linda and Reid stared at one another. She looked gorgeous, he thought, in a pair of black denim jeans and a red silk blouse topped with a black suede bolero jacket. Her hair fell around her shoulders.

He looked gorgeous, she thought, in a pair of grey pants, a black jacket, a black shirt with tiny white polka dots topped with a grey sweater vest and coordinated with a white tie with black polka dots. His hair was brushed back off his face.

The spell was finally broken when Linda spoke. "What happened to you," she asked with concern, rushing forward.

"Just a small shot in the arm, soft tissue injury, no broken bones," Reid explained.

"That's uh…great, uh…I mean that it wasn't more serious," Linda said.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Sandy suggested we all go out for a drink. I didn't want to go but she and the general insisted. I…I didn't realize that you would…"

"Well, why would you?" Reid replied.

"I suppose I should g…" Linda pointed to her team.

"I want to apologize for the argument we had," Reid blurted out before she could leave. "I didn't mean what I said, at least not the way it came out. JJ made me see that sometimes I tend to be too logical and forget the emotional component of things. I never meant to hurt you in any way."

"I…I think I may have overreacted. I mean it was an argument. I snapped back in a moment of anger. I probably shouldn't have said what I did and kicked you out like that but I lost my temper. I've come to the conclusion that we have to face the fact that we'll never know what caused us to lose our baby. It may have been the Ebola or it may have been the anthrax or it may have been a chromosomal abnormality that wouldn't allow our baby to become a viable fetus. We'll just never know."

Reid nodded, "I think that's best."

"You have a dangerous job," she reached out and tenderly touched his arm. "And I sometimes have a dangerous job. It's a consequence of what we've chosen to do. For me to have you in my life, I have to live with that. For you to have me in your life, you have to live with that. Knowing that I will always do everything I can to protect myself, can you?"

Garcia went up to the jukebox and selected a song. She looked at Reid and Linda. "Don't just stand there…dance!" She said as Peter Cetera began to sing.

_Well here we are again_

_I guess it must be fate_

Linda put her arms on Reid's shoulders. "I guess we should do what she says," Linda replied as the voice carried on in the background.

_We've tried it on our own_

_But deep inside we've known_

_We'd be back to set things straight_

"I…I'm not a very good dancer," Reid said as his good arm encircled her waist.

"Do you hear me complaining?" Linda asked as her arms went around his neck and Cher began to sing.

_I still remember when_

_Your kiss was so brand new_

"You do realize that we were set up again, don't you? Are you sure you want to be around a guy whose friends are so conniving?"

_Every memory repeats_

_Every step I take retreats_

_Every journey always brings me back to you_

"My nurses aren't completely innocent either but I'm willing to chance it if you are. Besides, Beth has been dying to meet Agent Morgan." She smiled as her fingers began to play with the hair at the back of his neck. Linda could feel his breath on her hair as he held her tighter and their hips moved in unison to the music.

_When love is truly right_

_It lives from year to year_

_It changes as it goes _

_And on the way it grows_

_But it never disappears_

"I was talking to a guy at Beltway Clean Cops that…that had lost a baby with his wife. He told me about something that they did. He said that it helped pull them through."

_After all the stops and starts_

_We keep coming back to these two hearts_

_Two angels who've been rescued from the fall_

_After all that we've been through_

_It all comes down to me and you_

_I guess it's meant to be_

_Forever you and me_

_After all_

"What," Linda said when something bounced off her head. The same thing happened to Reid moments later. The couple looked at the peanuts on the floor and out at their friends as the last strains of the song ended.

"Hey you two," Morgan yelled. "Get a room!"

-------------------

General Mattingly strode down the hallway to the nurses' station where Shirley, Sandy and Beth were discussing their newest H1N1 admission. "Good morning," Mitch Mattingly said as he began to peruse the patient's chart. "I'm just letting you know that you're going to have to put up with just me today. Dr. Kimura has called in ill. I thought she looked rather run down yesterday so she likely needs a good rest."

His eyes flicked up from the chart while his head remained down and he appeared intent on reading, to see Beth nudge Shirley, "Yes, I'm uh… sure a day in bed will do her the world of good," Shirley said.

The general's mouth curved into a sly smirk. "Good work ladies," he said as he patted the chart. "Carry on," he said with a wink as he left them.

-------------------

"Where's Reid?" Garcia asked the others when she entered the BAU bullpen and found his desk empty. She was eager to find out if all was right again with him and Linda.

"He's late," Morgan said as he swiveled in his chair.

"No, he's not," Hotch told them, walking by with a steaming cup of coffee. "He called in sick."

"His arm must be bothering him more than he was letting on," Emily remarked.

"Yeah, must be," Rossi agreed as he and Hotch shared a rare grin while climbing the stairs to their offices.

--------------------

Quiet Hills Park was all but empty this early on a Sunday morning. The sun had barely risen on the place where Chad Brown had unleashed his attack on the innocent men, women and children who enjoyed the space. There were two people in the park, however, even at this early hour. Spencer Reid hoisted the last shovelful of dirt from the ground that finally made the hole big enough. "How did you get permission to do this?" Linda asked.

"Hotch knows somebody on the Parks Board. He convinced him it would be good for their green initiative." Reid went over to the box they had brought and removed a small magnolia sapling.

"I think this is the perfect place to plant it. If it hadn't been for the anthrax, I wouldn't have met you and we wouldn't have conceived our little girl. It will always be a remembrance, like she's still with us in a way; that she got a chance at life," Linda said as she held the thin trunk straight while Reid piled the dirt back in the hole and tamped it down. He hooked a hose up to the park's water system and sprayed the ground liberally with water.

"There," he said with a nod as he put his arms around Linda. "Her roots can grow deep and in the spring she'll blossom and be beautiful, just like her mother."

"And she'll grow tall and strong, just like her father," Linda said.

"She'll offer shade for park visitors and shelter for birds and squirrels. She'll welcome sunshine and rain equally," Reid replied.

"But most of all, she'll go on spreading her bounty to brighten her little corner of the world long after we're gone," Linda added.

"That's as it should be," Reid said.

"Yes," Linda agreed, "that's as it should be."

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**The End**

**A/N: After All was composed by Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford**


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